What if Tris Lived?
by dauntlessdivergent46
Summary: Tris was shot by David. We all know that. But what if she survived? What if she went back to Dauntless with the people she loved? The only catch is... no one is allowed to know who she really is. Will her friends recognize her? What is this huge threat Chicago is facing? More questions pile up in Tris's head; more questions that can't be answered.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hey guys! My name is Erica, and this is a story I've had in mind for a while. I hope you guys like it, and please tell me if there are any mistakes in the reviews!**

**Tris POV**

I woke up in a large bed with silk sheets. The rest of the room was blank, except for a small window near the bed and a door at the far end of the room. I felt bandages wrapped around my stomach, where I was shot. Who bandaged me up? I glanced down at what I was wearing; a black tank top and black running shorts. I wasn't wearing the clothes I wore when I broke into the Weapons Lab. Who changed my clothes? Where was I? The last thing I remember was David shooting me. How long was I out? Where was Tobias? Did I succeed in releasing the memory serum?

Questions swarmed through my brain, all waiting to be answered. To try and find out where I was, I got up and looked out the window. There were other houses surrounding this one, and a few boys were playing on the street with toy guns. It was your average neighborhood setting, but that was the problem. It was your typical neighborhood setting in the _past_, perhaps 200 years ago. I learned this from faction history, back before I chose Dauntless and got myself into a huge mess.

I sighed. I missed Dauntless and everyone there. I even missed Peter bullying me. It seems like such a small problem compared to the problems I get into now; for example, getting shot twice by a maniac who wanted to wipe the memories of all of Chicago. I shook my head. _Snap out of it, Tris,_ I thought to myself. _Focus on getting out of here. _

So I used the Erudite side of myself to try to figure this out. I'm definitely not in the Abnegation sector; parents would never let their children even touch toy guns. I'm not in Dauntless either; if I were in Dauntless the kids would probably be using _real_ guns, not to mention that the Dauntless live in the Pit. I couldn't be in Erudite; they would find it illogical to be playing with toy guns. Not Amity; they lived outside the fence and wouldn't let such a violent toy be played with. Probably not Candor either; I saw no sign of the Merciless Mart. For a brief second I felt pleased with myself for figuring all of this information out just based on some toy guns and my surroundings.

So where could I possibly be? Could I be outside the fence? That would make the most sense, but who would have brought me here? Does Tobias know where I am? Am I safe here, or are they going to use me for something? More and more questions swarmed through my brain; more questions I couldn't answer.

Just as I thought I would be drowning in questions, the door at the far end of the room opened. The first thing I thought was_, Attack them. Hold nothing back; they took you away from the people you care about._ I turned and saw a girl about my age standing in the doorway. She had dark hair and green eyes. Her eyes widened at the sight of me awake, but she quickly composed herself. The girl opened her mouth as if to say something, but I cut her off with a punch to the jaw.

She stumbled back clutching her jaw, and I took the opportunity to sweep her feet out from under her. She fell with a loud thud on the wooden floor, and I pinned her arms and legs to the ground with my own. She looked up at me wide-eyed. I glared down at her and said, "Didn't think a small girl like me could do that, huh? Well, don't underestimate me. Where am I? Who are you? What am I doing here?"

I expected her to look terrified, but she only looked amused. She laughed. "Woah, where's the fire? I only came here to check to see if you were awake. And by some possibility you were, I would've answered your questions. Now get off me, and I'll explain everything." I was surprised; she said everything with nonchalance, as if there wasn't a teenage girl pinning her to the floor.

Instead of getting off, I said, "Oh? And why should I trust you? For all I know, you could be here to kill me." She sighed. "Tris, you've been unconscious for almost a week. If I wanted you dead, you would be already." How did she know my name?

I looked at her cautiously, but slowly got up. She stood too, dusting her shoulders and arms off. How could she be so relaxed about all of this? She straightened her back and nodded toward the bed. "Why don't you sit down? I bet attacking me was tiring," she said sarcastically. I just stared at her. I wasn't going to sit down; not with my captor just standing in the middle of the room like that.

She only sighed. "Well then I guess I'll answer your questions while standing. To start off, my name is Alexandra, but I always thought that that name was too complicated. So people call me Alex." She held out her hand for me to shake; a Dauntless custom. Could she be from Dauntless?

I refused to shake Alex's hand. I won't have any friendly contact with her until she gives a good explanation for me to trust her. She let her hand drop and continued, saying, "As for what you're doing here, I saved you. Well, I wasn't the only one who saved you. I had some help, but you get the point. We got you bandaged up and well again. You had some nasty gun shots."

So she was the one who bandaged me up? "But why would you even try to help me?" I asked with a curious look on my face. "We don't even know each other. Why would you want to do this for me? What were you even doing in the Weapons Lab?"

She grinned and answered, "This is the interesting part. You see, I'm a certified time traveler sent to-" I cut her off immediately and said, "Do you seriously think I'm going to believe this time traveler nonsense? Time traveling isn't even a real thing."

She shook her head. "Ah, but that's where you're wrong. About 20 years after you were born, the Erudite creates a time machine." I looked at her curiously. I didn't totally believe her, but I still asked, "So you're from the future?" Alex nodded, but I was still confused. "Why save me, though? What's so important about me that you had to go back in time to save me? Why not just let me die?"

She sighed again. "Now that's where things get complicated. I can't tell you things about the future, it interferes with the passage of time. But I will tell you this; in the future I live in, you die when you're still desperately needed. Not just by the people who love and miss you; all of Chicago," she said in a condescending tone. Something sparked in her eyes, as if she knew something I didn't. Well, she _did_ know something I didn't.

"You still haven't answered one of my questions." I said. "Where am I?" She looked at me and said, "You haven't figured it out yet?" I looked at her curiously. She mumbled, "Well I guess they made a mistake when they said you had an aptitude for Erudite." She probably didn't mean for me to hear that. I just glared at her.

She looked at me questionably. "Seriously? I'm a time traveler. This is a place nothing like the faction system or anything outside the fence. This is a typical neighborhood in the _past._ Have you figured it out yet?"

My eyes widened. "I'm in the past?!" Alex threw her hands up in exasperation and rolled her eyes. "Took you long enough!" she exclaimed. "I thought I was going to have to spell it out for you!" I was overwhelmed, though. I needed to get back to the Bureau! I needed to get back to the future. I needed to help Chicago with whatever crisis it was about to get into. But most importantly, I needed to get back to the people I loved.

**A/N: Was it good? Was it bad? Please tell me your opinions about it in the reviews! Be Candor with me; tell me your honest opinion. I'll post another chapter if someone asks me to continue! ~Erica**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Thank you so much for all this nice reviews and follows and favorites! I appreciate it so much. So this chapter is a bit of insight on what's happening in Tobias' life three years after Tris "died." Pretend the epilogue of Allegiant never happened, and we know nothing about what life was like in Chicago afterwards. Enjoy! **

**Tobias POV**

I'm walking through the Pit to the cafeteria for breakfast with a lot on my mind. It's been three years. Three years since the war ended. Three years since my beloved Tris died. Three years since my life fell apart. I miss the faction system. I still live in the Pit along with a few other former Dauntless members, just to keep some familiarity in my life. If everything has changed, it's nice to know that at least one thing is constant.

I've moved on. Well, I've sort of moved on. I still think about Tris every day, I still wish that she was still here with me. But I no longer wish to die. I even have a girlfriend now; I'm not sure if I'll ever love her as much as I loved_, love_, Tris.

This girlfriend's name is Christina. I know it might seem shallow to date your dead girlfriend's best friend, but Christina and I really bonded after everything that happened. Both of our loved one's died, and Christina is actually quite trustworthy and loyal once you get to know her. Nothing like the Candor smart-mouth I met on the first day of initiation.

Christina and I started dating about 5 months ago when she asked me out. I couldn't refuse; our friendship would seem really awkward if I did. So I said yes; Christina was a kind and fun friend, so why wouldn't she be a good girlfriend? Now we are dating and I guess we're… happy.

Happier than I thought I'd ever be without Tris. I thought my life would be over; that I'd never even dream of a sliver of happiness in my life. But Christina has provided that, and I am truly grateful. I finally reached the cafeteria and looked around for my friends. The place was crowded this time of day; I'm a late for breakfast. I was to busy thinking about Tris this morning, thinking about how we'd never be able to see each other again.

Zeke stood up and waved. "Yo, Four! Come sit over here!" he shouted. Everyone here still calls me Four, not Tobias. I guess old habits die hard. Shauna rolled her eyes at how loud and childish Zeke was. I walked over to the table where Zeke, Shauna, Lauren, Christina, and Cara were sitting. Cara decided to move into Dauntless headquarters after the war. She said she moved in because all of her friends were here, but I don't believe her. She moved here, because Will would have been living here too; if he hadn't died.

I reached the table and sat down next to Christina. She smiled at me and said, "Hey, babe." I smiled back and responded, "Hey Chris." I hesitantly wrapped my arm around her shoulder. I'm a little bit uncomfortable with intimate physical contact; not that I can't do it, it's just that such intimate touches with Christina felt… wrong. I can't explain it, it's just that I don't really _feel_ anything like I did with Tris. I'm hoping that I'll learn to love it.

She seems to enjoy it, though. She leans into me and snuggles her head into my chest. I know I should be used to us touching by now. We _have_ been dating for 5 months. Christina whispered quietly, "Today's the anniversary." I only nodded, my face suddenly becoming blank. I didn't like talking about this; not when it opened up so many emotions inside me. She looked up at me. "Do you want to talk about it?" This was meant to be a private conversation, but of course Zeke had to butt in, saying, "What are you people talking about?" Couldn't he mind his own business?

Christina looked at him and glared. "Tris. Today's the anniversary." That was all she needed and wanted to say. Zeke went quiet and mumbled out an, "Oh." Then he looked at me sympathetically. "You want to talk about it Four?" he asked. "Whatever you need, we're there for you." Lauren, Cara, and Shauna both nodded with him, all giving me the same look: they were looking at me like I was a kicked puppy who needed sympathy. I know they were trying to make me feel better, but it wasn't working.

I shook my head. "I don't _need_ your sympathy. I don't _want _to talk about it. _Nothing _is going to make _anything_ any better." I scowled at the table. Christina pulled away from me, a frustrated expression on her face. "You know sometimes you do need to talk about things. You can't keep all of your emotions bottled up all the time! Open up to us, Four! We're your friends," she said. And there's the Candor smart-mouth I know so well.

I couldn't entirely blame her, though. I've been cold and distant ever since Tris has died, and she just wants me to open up and show her what I'm feeling and who I am. What kind of girlfriend doesn't want that?

But I wasn't ready to do that. Not yet.

I stood up. "I'm going to my room." I started walking away from the table. Christina stood up and came after me, saying, "Oh no you don't! You can't just run away from your problems!" I'm sure she said more, but I wasn't paying attention. All I could think about was getting away. It was stupid to think I could get over Tris. She grabbed my arm. "Tobias, look at me." She used my real name. She only uses it when she is concerned for me. I slowly turned to her.

She was looking sympathetically at me. "Would Tris want this for you? To go back to Instructor Four, the guy with no emotions or feelings? Or would she want you to be Tobias, the loving, caring boyfriend she knew so well?" She was right. And that's what bothered me the most.

I yanked my arm out of her grip. "I'm going to my room. Don't bother me. Please." I sprinted the rest of the way to my room, leaving Christina standing in the middle of the Pit. I reached my room and yanked the door open. Well, I tried to yank the door open. I pulled and pulled, but the door wouldn't budge.

Then I realized that the door was locked._ Nice going, Four. You need to_ unlock _the door to open it, _I thought to myself. I pulled the key out of my back pocket and pushed it forcibly into the lock. I yanked the door open and stormed inside.

I plopped on my bed and allowed myself to think. I wasn't mad at anyone; it's just that they were looking at me like I was… a kicked puppy. Tris would never look at me like that. She viewed me as strong, unstoppable. Maybe I should start acting like that.

I want her to look at me from wherever she is right now and think to herself_, I knew you could do it, Tobias. I knew you would still be strong. _She had faith in me; I knew that. But sometimes I wondered if she overestimated just how much I was capable of. I couldn't face this world without her.

She would have wanted me to move on. She _expected_ me to move on. She said that herself before she went off to Erudite headquarters. I still remember what I said to her. _You die, I die too_. She wouldn't have wanted that, though. She wanted me to live my life normally._ I guess I didn't hold up my end of the bargain_, I thought bitterly.

I didn't need anyone's sympathy. I didn't want anyone's sympathy. They couldn't make anything better. The only thing that would make this better was Tris. But she was gone. She was gone forever. I let the tears that I was holding in spill over, and I let all my emotions out.

I let the grief for Tris out. I let the anger at David out. I let the frustration at myself out. I needed to move on. But it wasn't that simple. Tris was my first love. I _still_ love her. That's the problem, though. I'm never getting her back. So what's the point? What's the point in loving someone that wasn't even on this Earth anymore? What's the point in reaching for something that you're never going to grab?

I lay down in bed and stared at the words on my wall. "Fear God alone," I whisper to myself. It seems like such a stupid saying now. But at the same time, I wish I could _only_ fear God.

I let myself fear losing Tris, and my greatest fear came true_. Fear doesn't shut you down, it wakes you up._ I still believe in this saying. But now I know what really shuts you down. Greif.

**A/N: I cried writing this chapter. I'm still crying as I type this author's note. Remember that the epilogue in Allegiant didn't happen in this story! Please tell me your opinions in the reviews. I'll see if I can update again later today. ~Erica **


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Sup guys! I deeply appreciate all the people who have bothered to read this, so thank you guys! I'm going on vacation to Galveston tomorrow, so I may not be able to update until Sunday. I will try really really hard, but I don't even know if there will be wifi at the hotel! If I don't post anything, I promise that I am at least writing something. I hope to have two chapters up if I don't get to post anything on Sunday. **

**Disclaimer: All characters and the dystopian world of Divergent go to Veronica Roth. I only own the story line and a few original characters.**

**Tris POV**

I stared dumbfounded at Alex. "But how?!" I exclaimed. She looked at me like I was crazy. Maybe I _am_ crazy. None of this could possibly be real.

Alex looked annoyed, but answered, "You're dumber than I thought you were. Hello? I've got a time machine. I took you from your little time zone into this one." I glared at her. "Yeah, yeah, we have all of that established," I said irritably. "but why? I'm not important. Chicago won't be needing me anytime soon."

Alex shook her head. "Oh, Tris, you have no idea." I was starting to get more and more irritated. "Why can't you just tell me?" Alex gave me a pointed look. "I thought we went over this: I can't tell you about the future, it interferes with the passage of time."

I was about to come up with a snarky remark, when a boy about my age burst into the room. He was tall, and had chestnut hair with brown eyes. He asked, "Alex, what's with all the commotion?" She just glared at him. "Good timing, Drake. Nice of you _not_ to come in while I was being attacked." she said sarcastically.

The boy, Drake, put a mock look of confusion on his face. "So that's what all that noise was about? I thought you guys were just having fun!" he said. Alex rolled her eyes. "Yeah, that was _so_ fun. I got punched in the jaw and pinned to the floor. We were practically having a party!" she said sarcastically.

I interrupted their argument, and asked Alex, "Um… Who's this?" Alex turned back to me. "This is my annoying friend Drake. He helped me save you from the Bureau. He's actually the one who bandaged you up. He took your clothes off and everything."

Drake and I both blushed. I felt uncomfortable that a stranger would have already seen me without a shirt, but at the same time grateful that he basically saved my life. So instead of making this more awkward, I nodded to him saying, "Thanks."

Alex looked annoyed. "Oh, so Drake gets a 'Thanks,' but I just get yelled at." I rolled my eyes. "Well Drake isn't annoying me." Alex glared at me, but Drake just laughed. He walked over and patted me on the shoulder. "I like you already, Tris."

I swatted his hand away. "Don't think that we're immediately friends," I said harshly. "I still need to get back to my time period." Drake put his hands up in surrender. I'm not usually this mean, but I needed to get back. Who knew what my friends were thinking? "Well someone's feisty. Relax, Tris, we'll get you back to your precious little Chicago soon. All you have to do is listen to what we have to say."

I relaxed a little bit. "Fine. I'm listening." Alex stood beside Drake and said, "You'll listen to Drake, but not me?" She scowled at me. I rolled my eyes. "I _was_ listening to you, but you were too busy being vague and confusing about everything. I don't even know if I should believe anything you're saying. Why should I trust you, let alone go along with your plans?"

"Well we _did_ just save your life," Drake retorted sarcastically. Alex hit his arm. "Shut up, Drake." She turned to me. "Well if you want to save Chicago, then you probably should. Not to mention we're the only people with a time machine, so we're basically the only way you could possibly get back to your time period. And we make awesome friends." Drake quickly added, "Plus, you get to spend time with this." He gestured to himself.

Alex hit his arm again, harder this time. "Drake, you pervert! You're going to scare her away!" I allowed myself to laugh. Maybe I _could_ trust them. They don't seem so bad, and after all, they did save my life. Alex and Drake looked at me, surprised that I had laughed at all.

Alex glared. "What's so funny?" I just smiled. "You two fight like an old married couple." Alex immediately pushed Drake away. "That's disgusting!" she said distastefully. "He's practically my brother! My annoying, asshole of a brother." She gave Drake a pointed look.

He just rolled his eyes. He turned to me and said, "So what do you say, Tris? Are you going to help us out and save Chicago?" I weighed my options. I could say no, and be stuck here forever. But then I'd live in peace, and not have to worry about yet _another_ war. Or I could say yes, and get back to my time period with all my friends. But that would also mean that I'd have to fight again. I sighed. "Tell me what you have to say first." I gave each of them a cold hard glare. "But just remember, if either one of you even _thinks_ about betraying me, then consider yourself dead. I've had enough betrayal to last me multiple life times."

Drake and Alex gave me sympathetic looks. Drake said, "Trust me, we know." I was confused. "How? Have you been spying on me like the Bureau did?" I said sarcastically. I seriously hoped they weren't; I've already been watched my entire life. Alex just laughed. "What? No. In our time period, you're a war hero. We learn all about you in history class. There was an entire semester based on your life," Alex said. My eyes widened.

"You're kidding, right? I can't possibly be that important. I mean, I didn't do anything that really mattered." Drake looked at me confused. "You have no idea how much your life changed things for the better, do you? Tris, you stopped the simulation attack. You discovered the truth about the faction system. You went outside the fence to explore a whole different world. You survived the death serum and released the memory serum to stop the Bureau."

Alex nodded. "You're a huge role model for all the girls in my class. You showed them how to be brave. You taught them what self-sacrifice was. You showed all of us that no one can control you. That you make your own choices. You showed us that you can't let anyone define you, because you're defined by the actions you take. You have a whole book series written about you, and a movie is coming out too."

I looked at each of them, jaw dropped and eyes wide, waiting for them to tell me that this was a joke. But when I looked at their faces, their wasn't even a hint of sarcasm. "How could I possibly be this important to people?" I asked. "How am I such a huge role model when I am so selfish? How could people think that all of my accomplishments were so great, when I died in the process?" More questions, yet again.

Drake smiled at me. "You basically shaped our society today." Alex nodded and added, "And how could you consider yourself selfish? You stood in front of a target while knives were thrown at your head, just so someone else wouldn't have to endure it. You went to Erudite headquarters towards almost certain death so that no one else would die the same way Marlene did. You marched off to your certain destruction to face the death serum for a brother who betrayed you. If that's not selflessness, then I don't know what is. And even though you died, you showed everyone how to be brave; you showed everyone how to be selfless."

I looked at her weirdly. "You know about the knife throwing? How detailed is your history class?" Drake laughed. "Out of everything she said, that's the first thing you ask about?" I shrugged. Drake continued, "It wasn't in history class where we learned it, though that would have been interesting. No, we learned it from the one and only Tobias Eaton."

My eyes widened. "You've met Tobias? Where is he? How has he been? Is he alright?" I asked, the questions spilling out of my mouth. Drake said, "Slow down, one question at a time. Yes, I have met Tobias. Alex and I live in the Pit with him." I shot him a questioning glance. "But how? The faction system was destroyed."

Drake rolled his eyes. "You ask way too many questions," he said. "I should start calling you 'The Girl of Many Questions.'" Alex gave me a look. "Now you see what I live with," she said in an exasperated tone. I laughed. She smiled at me and said, "To answer your question, the faction system is, in fact, over. But you can still live in faction headquarters. Most former Dauntless members still live in the Pit and wear black all the time. They still follow Dauntless customs too."

Drake laughed. "They even do initiation for the newbies that come in. Alex and I went through it together. That's how we know Tobias; he's still the instructor." Wow, then I guess Dauntless hasn't changed that much. "So did Tobias just randomly go up to you guys and tell you about the time he threw knives at my head?" I asked, my voice dripping with sarcasm.

Alex replied in a sickly sweet voice, "Honey, he published a short book." Her voice didn't hold any sarcasm. I raised an eyebrow. "You _cannot_ be serious! He did?!" Alex and Drake both nodded their heads, amused expressions planted on their faces. I blushed. He made a book about that? I thought he was embarrassed about that day.

Drake said, "In my opinion, it was a bit much. He described his feelings about you and everything. You know what he said about you in the book? 'She's not _pretty, _that word is too small. She is not like the other girls I used to stare at, all bend and curve and softness. She is small but strong, and her bright eyes demand attention. Looking at her is like waking up.'"

Alex sighed and put a hand to her heart. "How romantic." I gave her a weird look. "Wow, Alex, I didn't peg you as the type of girl to like romance stories." Alex rolled her eyes and retorted, "Yeah, well I didn't peg Drake as the type of person to memorize romantic quotes, but look what happened there."

Drake glared at her. "Come on, Alex, you know I have a photographic memory! I didn't have a choice _but_ to memorize it." She patted him on the back. "Keep telling yourself that, Drake." He glared at her more. She just stuck her tongue out at him, and I laughed. Drake said, "Okay, now back to business. We-" Alex cut him off. "Since when were you all business type?" Drake gave her an irritated look. "Since the fate of Chicago was practically in our hands. Now shut up and let me talk." Alex closed her mouth.

"Now what was I saying? We brought you back here so that you would be safe from other people from the future who have darker intentions than we do. They wouldn't event think to look for you in the past." I understood, but I still had a question. "Why you guys?" I asked. "Why not an adult?"

Alex bit her lip. "Tris, we can't tell you things about the future. We've already made a risk by telling you anything at all." Drake nodded, agreeing with her. I sighed. I guess they weren't going to tell me anything anytime soon.

So I just asked, "When will I go back?" Alex answered, "A year."

"A year?! Why does it have to be so long?"

Drake answered my question this time. "It will give us time to figure out how to disguise you, make preparations, form a plan, etc. You'll be going back in disguise."

"But why?! Why can't I just go back as myself?" Drake rolled his eyes. "And The Girl of Many Questions strikes again," he said. Alex elbowed him in the ribs. "Be serious about this, Drake." He glared at her. "First of all, that hurt! And second of all, you just asked me five minutes ago when I became 'all business type,' so don't come back and tell me to be serious."

Alex ignored him. "We can't interfere with the passage of time… that much. We're kind of doing it right now. But if we keep you undercover, the people you're up against won't think they'll have anything to fear."

I had to admit, this was a well thought out plan. "How long after my supposed 'death' will I be back in Chicago?" I asked. Drake said, "We're planning on having you back three years after your 'death.'" Alex butted in. "The anniversary of your death, to be exact." Drake nodded. "It'll give you a bit of time to adjust to everything and learn what you're up against."

I said, "Okay, got it." Alex asked, "So are you willing to trust us? Will you help us?" I sighed. I suppose that I could trust them, and really, what did I have to loose? I nodded. Drake and Alex grinned widely, pleased that I had chosen to join them. "So we ready to save Chicago?" Drake asked. "I guess," I said, while Alex yelled, "You know it!"

Drake clapped his hands together. "Then let's get to work."

**A/N: And I just wrote 2,000 words! Thanks to everyone who have followed and favorited this story and I would like to thank AScars, Loyaldeer, and livyroro for the nice reviews. If I'm not able to post anything, I **_**promise**_** that 2 chapters will be up on Sunday. Please please please leave a review! Reviews give me more motivation to write! I hope you enjoyed reading! ~Erica**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Hello fellow initiates! Apparently there **_**is**_** wifi at the hotel! *happy dance.* Can you guys please give me more reviews? Please? **Bambi eyes** I want to know what you guys think of my story, and more reviews really motivate me to write! Thank you guys for bothering to read this, and enjoy the story! **

**Disclaimer: All characters and the dystopian world of Divergent belong to Veronica Roth. I only own Alex, Drake, and the plot.**

**Tris POV**

It's been a year. It's been a year since I supposedly 'died.' I will be going back to Chicago in a week, the three year anniversary of my death. I now completely trust Drake and Alex; they're actually really great friends. Both of them are really trustworthy and nice once you get to know them; save for Alex's frequent sarcastic remarks and Drake's huge ego. But we have all become very close.

Over the past year I have learned tiny things about them. They were both born 6 years after I supposedly 'died.' They went back in time to a year after I 'died' to go through Dauntless initiation and get everyone to trust them. That way, when they bring me, everyone will believe them about my life story. I now have a new identity: Zoë Nightshade.

They disguised me as best they could; they dyed my hair fiery red and gave me green eye contacts. But it also helped that my body has filled out more. I'm taller than I used to be. My body has more muscle. My breasts have filled out. My hair has grown considerably longer_. I_ barely even recognized myself.

I was sitting on my bed beside Alex, with Drake standing in front of us. We were reviewing everything I should say about myself for when I go to Chicago in a week. Drake asked, "So what's your name?" I answered smoothly, "Zoë Nightshade." Drake nodded in approval. "Why haven't we seen you in Dauntless before?" Alex asked. "I've been in Dauntless since the war ended; I went outside the fence on a long mission to terminate the GD rebels," I said. Alex gave her own nod of approval to me.

Drake asked yet another question. "Where is your family?" I responded, "My mom and dad died in the war." At least that wasn't a lie. The less lies the better. "My brother, Samuel, was a traitor; he was executed." This was a partial truth. Caleb was a traitor, he just wasn't executed.

We went on like that; Alex and Drake kept asking me questions, and I gave the answer that they had told me to give. After what seemed like eternity, Drake said in an enthusiastic voice, "Well, looks like you're all set, Tris!" I gave him a look. "My name is Zoë, remember? Gosh, Drake, I though you would know that," I said sarcastically.

Drake rolled his eyes. "Fine, then you're all set, Zoë," he said with considerably less enthusiasm. I smiled, satisfied that I had annoyed him. Drake and I have created a sort of brother sister relationship; arguing half the time but knowing that we'd sacrifice our lives for each other. "Awesome," I said with a grin.

Alex asked, "Can we review the plan just one more time?" Drake groaned. "Again?" he whined. Alex put an irritated look on her face. "Drake, we have to get this right. We won't have another chance." Drake was just as annoyed as Alex was. "Yeah, we definitely won't have another chance. It's not like we have a time machine that we can use to fix everything," Drake said sarcastically. The time machine was basically like… a portal. It was like a portal that you see in all those movies, but there's a control panel where you enter the date you want to travel to.

"Let's just review the plan." I said, interrupting their argument. Drake huffed. "Fine," he grumbled under his breath. "Okay, now, Tris," he said, "you are going to arrive in the cafeteria at dinner with Alex and I. We are going to say that you're our friend who just got back from a mission in the Fringe." I nodded.

Then Alex added, "Remember, Tris, they can't know who you are. Not yet. Act unlike yourself and pretend you don't know anyone there." I raised my eyebrows. "How am I supposed to act?" I questioned. Alex considered it for a moment. "I don't know, it depends. Would you rather have them like you or hate you?"

I shot Alex a glare. "I think we both know that I'd rather have them like me." Alex nodded. "Thought so. I don't really care how you act, as long as it isn't like your Stiff self. You can act Amity for all I care."

I said, "Got it." Then Drake said, "We're not there to make them like you, Tris. We're there so that we can save Chicago. Remember that. If anyone knows that you're there, it can ruin everything. Do not tell anyone_, especially_ not Tobias." That was the hard part. How could I not tell Tobias or my friends? Why should I keep quiet when I don't even know what I'm up against?

Drake and Alex looked at me, expecting for me to confirm that I won't tell anyone. I blew a stray strand of my newly red hair and mumbled out a, "Fine." They nodded. "Good." Drake said. "Try to find out what the threat is yourself; we can't tell you because-" I cut him off. "Because it interferes with the passage of time," I finished for him. "We've been over this multiple times."

Drake flashed his signature smirk that I've come to know so well. "We've trained you well, Stiff. Looks like we've got all of this planned out. Start packing. We're leaving in a week."

* * *

**Tobias POV**

I lay in bed, staring at me ceiling. I have no idea how long I've been here; I lost track of time. I had fallen asleep a few times, each time with nightmares about losing Tris. I always have dreams about losing her. Every single night. Sometimes I think that as long as I can still dream, it will be of Tris.

But at least in each nightmare I got to see her face. I wake up in reality without her here, without her beautiful face in front of me. It kills me to know that now, I can only see Tris' face in dreams. I'll never be able to _really_ see her.

I was about to doze off again, when I heard a knock on the door. I internally groaned. I didn't want to get up again today. Not on Tris' death aniversary, not when I will meet the pitying stares of others. They knocked again, more insistent this time. I heard someone yell on the other side of the door, "Four, get your lazy ass up; it's time for dinner!" Zeke.

Dinner? I've been in here that long? I thought that it would be lunch; at the most. "Four, let's go! They made Dauntless cake!" Hmm…. Maybe I could get up for Dauntless cake…

Zeke burst through the door. I shot up in bed and glared. "How the hell did you get in?!" I yelled. Zeke rolled his eyes and waved a key in front of him. "You gave me a spare key, Four," he said in a bored tone, as if it was supposed to be obvious. I suppose that it was.

"Yeah, for emergencies!"

"I think Dauntless cake qualifies as an emergency." I'd hate to admit it, but Dauntless cake _is_ an emergency.

"Fine," I grumbled, "let's go." Zeke punched the air and whooped. I climbed out of bed and pulled on my shoes. Zeke and I were walking down the hallway, when Zeke said, "Drake and Alex are coming back today." I nodded, not really caring.

Drake and Alex had become our friends after I trained them for initiation. They recently went on a mission to the Fringe.

We remained silent the rest of the way to the cafeteria. When we reached it, Zeke and I grabbed Dauntless cake and went to a table with Shauna, Lauren, Christina, and Cara. "Sup guys." Zeke greeted. Everyone said, "Hi," or "Hey."

Christina said, "So Drake and Alex are coming back today, huh?" Lauren answered, "Yup. They've been gone for a while. How long was it?"

"7 months," a new voice said behind me. I turned to Drake standing there with his usual smirk on his face. "Talking about me again, guys?" Cara rolled her eyes playfully. "You wish." Shauna gave her a pointed look. "We actually _were_ talking about him.

Cara said, "We were talking about Alex too, though. Speaking of which, where is she?" Drake answered, "She's with her new friend she met in the Fringe. They were out shopping or something; they said they'd meet up with me here."

I let my eyes sweep through the cafeteria, looking for Alex. I saw her standing just at the entrance of the cafeteria, seeming to be having an argument with someone else I couldn't see. "Hey, guys," I said, nodding in her direction. "There's Alex, but where's the friend?" Drake shrugged and sat down. "Beats me. That girl Alex is arguing with is probably her."

Alex pulled on the girl's arm and forced her into the cafeteria; the girl seemes to be struggling against her. This girl was wearing tight black jeans with black boots, and a leather jacket. The girl was covering her face with her red hair, so I couldn't see her face.

Alex reached the table, and said, "Hey guys. This is my friend-" She glanced over at her friend and saw that her hair was concealing her face. Alex looked exasperated. "Oh, come on! I told you not to be shy, these are my friends," Alex said in a sweet tone, but you can tell she was frustrated by the way she was gritting her teeth.

The girl grumbled out a quiet, "Fine," and slowly swept her red hair out of her face. Everyone at the table audibly gasped at the sight of her. Because even though this girl had a different body and different colored hair, she had a face all of us were familiar with.

I would know this face anywhere. This face was my first love's. This face belonged to Dauntless' first-ranking initiate. This face belonged to someone who should be dead.

This face belonged to the one and only Beatrice Prior.

**A/N: ZOMG Tris is finally in Dauntless! This is where it's going to get exciting! I need to ask you guys a question: should the next chapter be in Tobias' or Tris' POV? If I don't get an answer by tomorrow, I'll just pick one myself, but I really want you guys' opinion. Tell me what you think in the reviews, and thanks for reading. ~Erica**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Hey fellow initiates! Thank you so much for the reviews! I'm doing this chapter in Tris' POV for you guys, so here you go! I honestly was stumped for this chapter, so I am really sorry if it sucks. I hope you enjoy reading! **

**Tris POV**

Everyone at the table audibly gasped at the sight of the face they used to know; a face that was supposed to be dead. It felt good to see them all again; even though they were looking at me with disbelieving expressions on their faces. Nobody spoke; they were all shocked to see someone they expected never to see again. Well… everyone except Tobias.

"Tris!" he blurted out. He shot out of his seat and ran to me, arms out as if to embrace me.

They can't know who I am. Not even Tobias_. Act unlike yourself_, Alex's words echoed in my head. What kind of personality should I choose? I'm supposed to be from Dauntless, sent on a mission to the Fringe… so badass Dauntless chick would be a perfect personality.

I think I made a good decision on personality choice, because the old Tris would never even _think _to do what I was about to do. When Tobias reached me, I didn't let him embrace me. Instead, I grabbed one of his outstretched arms and used his momentum to flip him onto his back. He groaned in pain. See? The old Tris would _never_ do that.

I heard his breath whoosh out of him, and I put my knee on his chest to pin him to the ground. Everyone in the cafeteria went silent, all gathering around to watch the scene. I heard murmurs, people saying, "Is that Tris Prior?!" and, "She flipped over _**the**_ Four." I just ignored them. I was too overwhelmed by the happiness of seeing Tobias and my friends again, and the sadness of not being able to let them know that it was me. I felt a strong urge to press my lips to Tobias', but I held back.

Tobias was looking at me with a shocked expression on his face. He definitely didn't expect that.

I put a menacing expression on my face. _Keep up the badass Dauntless personality_, I thought to myself. "What the hell do you think you're doing?!" I'm surprised none of our friends has come to help him, but that's Dauntless for you. Fights break out all the time.

"I don't let random guys hug me," I snarled. I couldn't even recognize my own voice; it was so full of venom and hate that I knew Tobias heard too. It killed me to see the pain in his eyes. But I still saw a tiny flicker of hope. He still believed I was Tris.

"Tris, it's me, Four!" he said to me desperately. He looked at me with pleading eyes, begging me to recognize him. But that was the thing. I _did_ recognize him. I just couldn't let him know that.

I opened my mouth to say a snarky remark, when I felt arms pull me roughly off of him. I glanced behind me and saw Christina with a furious expression on her face. It surprised me that she was the one to step in and help him. Why not Zeke? Christina and Tobias were never really close…

"What the hell was that for?!" she yelled at me. I glared at her. A Dauntless person would be mad in this situation, right? "He came at me. I was doing what _any_ trained Dauntless would do," I said in the same hate-filled voice. It was so hard to do this; it pained me to be like this with my friends. But it was the only way. If whatever this threat on Chicago is as dangerous as Alex and Drake make it seem to be, it's for their own safety.

"You didn't have to judo-flip him!" she exclaimed. She had an expression of rage and concern on her face. She was concerned for him? They must have grown a lot closer while I was gone.

What would a Dauntless say to that? "Would you rather have had me break his nose? I could have also knocked him out. It would've been so easy." I smirked. I think I've become a better liar over the past year; Christina was believing my act.

Christina glared at me. "You think you're all that, dont' you? Well I'm going to show you how a _real_ fighter does it."

Christina pulled back her fist, probably to punch me, but Tobias grabbed her hand before she could strike. "Christina, its fine," he said quietly. He wore a disappointed expression on his face; he really wanted me to be here with him.

She turned and put a questioning and mad expression on her face. "But she freaking _flipped_ you! You're not angry?!" Tobias shook his head. "No, I deserved it." He turned to me. "I'm sorry for running up to you like that." He looked away. "I thought you were… someone else," he mumbled, not quite meeting my eyes.

"Some girl… Tris?" I asked without a trace of sympathy in my voice. Tobias didn't need any. He was strong.

He only nodded. "Sorry for flipping you," I said sheepishly. Flipping him might have been a bit too much. "It's kind of an instinct now; working in the Fringe for 2 years can do that to you," I explain somewhat convincingly. I felt so guilty for lying to him, but it's not like I haven't done it before.

He offered me a small smile. "That's fine. I hope we can be friends someday... Um, sorry, but I didn't catch your name." I smiled back at him. "Zoë. Zoë Nightshade," I said, the lie feeling bitter on my tongue. '_I'm Beatrice Prior!' _I wanted to yell.

"Well then I hope we can be friends someday, Zoë," Tobias said in a light tone. Christina glared at him. "That's it?! 'I hope we can be friends someday.'? She flipped you! She looked prepared to beat you up!" she yelled. She looked furious. Tobias just shrugged.

She huffed and glared at me instead. "I'm watching you, Red." Red? She stormed off, probably to her bedroom. I called after her, "I have a name, you know!" Of course, she didn't look back.

Tobias said, "Come on, let's sit down. Give her some time to cool off." We sat down at the table with everybody else. Zeke laughed as soon as he saw Four. "Wow, dude, can't believe a little girl like Zoë could flip you like that!" he said. I guess everyone here knew my name now. I guess Alex must have told them, or perhaps they heard me talking to Tobias. Everyone else laughed along with him, except for Tobias.

I guess it was kind of cruel to laugh, I mean Tobias only went up to me because he recognized me as Tris. It seemed rude to laugh at that, especially since I was assumed dead. But Zoë doesn't know that, so I don't think laughing right now counts as being rude.

Tobias just blushed. Maybe he was just embarrassed about the situation, not sad about it. But today was the three year anniversary of my death, so maybe he's just really good at hiding his emotions. He was always good at keeping his face emotionless; I call it his 'Instructor Four' face.

I rolled my eyes and smirked. "Well I'm glad you enjoyed it…" I trailed off, pretending not to know his name. "Zeke," he finished for me. "And the wheelchair girl is Shauna." She glared at him for the nickname. "The blond over there is Cara, and the girl sitting next to her is Lauren," he said. I nodded; making it look like this was all new information. "Well I'm glad you enjoyed it, Zeke, because obviously Christina didn't. Is she always like that?" I asked. I was genuinly curious; Christina wasn't usually so explosive.

Lauren gave me a pointed look. "No, but you would be like that too if someone came in and judo-flipped your boyfriend." My heart sped up. Boyfriend? As in, they're dating? But how? I guess maybe Tobias _did_ move on. He's dating _my best friend? _I know I should be happy for them; they were able to find some happiness after everything that happened. But I felt disappointed. Tobias is dating Christina? The girl he called a Candor Smart-mouth on the first day of initiation? But it was good that he moved on. I mean, I wanted him to move on. So I should be proud of him. Right?

I felt a twinge of jealousy in the pit of my stomach_. I should be happy he moved on,_ I thought to myself. It became my mantra. I repeated it over and over in my head, trying to make it a reality. But I still felt the jealousy in my stomach, slowly growing as if to devour me. I can't be jealous. I wouldn't be jealous.

I kept repeating the mantra, until I heard someone say, "Zoë? Zoë? Zoë!" Someone shook my shoulder.

I looked up, breaking out of my trance. Alex was looking at me expectantly. "Well? Answer the question." Whoops, I wasn't paying attention.

"Um… What was the question?" I asked tentatively, embarrassed. Alex gave me an annoyed look, but answered, "Zeke is having a party tonight at his place. You want to come? Everyone else here is coming to." The rest of the group nodded in confirmation.

I would've said yes without hesitation, but that was before I found out that Christina and Tobias were dating. I don't think I'd be able to handle a whole party with them holding hands, hugging, kissing…

I sighed. I'm going to have to suck it up. Perhaps I'd learn about this threat on Chicago at the party. "I'll go!" I said a bit over enthusiastically. "But only if there's cake," I said, giving Zeke a look.

Zeke rolled his eyes. "Please. What's a party without cake?" Everyone at the table laughed. It feels good to be with them again, to laugh with them again. Sometimes I wonder what it is about Dauntless that makes me feel safe, that makes me feel like I _belong._

Alex suddenly grabbed my arm and pulled me to my feet. "Where are we going?" I asked. She raised her eyebrows at me. "You couldn't expect me to let you go to a party without me giving you a makeover, did you?"

I internally groaned. Over the past year, Alex has been trying to get me to let her put makeup on me or fix my hair, and this party was the perfect opportunity for her to do so.

What have I just gotten myself in to?

**A/N: Well there you guys go! I know some of you asked for Tobias' POV, but most people wanted Tris'. If you guys want, I can write a version of this in Tobias' POV, but if not, then the next chapter will be in Tris' POV of her getting ready for the party. Please tell me your opinions in the reviews, and thanks for reading! ~Erica**


	6. Tobias' POV of Ch 5

**A/N: Hey initiates! Spring break is over tomorrow, so I might not be able to update as often. Well, you guys asked for Tobias' POV of the last chapter, so here you go! This chapter is longer than the one in Tris' POV, but it is way crappier than the last one. Oh well. Enjoy reading!**

**Tobias' POV**

My heart sped up at the sight of Tris' face; a face that was supposed to be gone from this world forever. How could she possibly be alive? I saw her dead body. Is the universe playing a cruel trick on me? Or could this be real?

I hoped for the latter; the universe has already confirmed that it hates me. Giving me an abusive father, a mother who left me, killing my friends and girlfriend, and now giving me an exact lookalike of her.

But maybe it's actually… "Tris!" I blurted out. Maybe it's actually real. Maybe just this once, the universe has given me something I've been aching to be with again for the last three years. I needed to have her in my arms again.

I shot out of my seat, arms out to embrace her. When I reached her, I didn't expect what happened next. Tris grabbed one of my outstretched arms and used my momentum to flip me onto my back. My back slammed onto the stone floor and my breath whooshed out of me. Ow, that hurt! My back would probably have a bruise later.

She pinned me to the floor with her knee. What was she doing? The Tris I know would never do this. I heard murmurs around us, but I couldn't hear them over the pounding in my, most likely bruised, skull.

There was a brief flicker of something in her expression… was it sadness? Was it indecision? But it was gone as soon as it came, replaced with a menacing expression. "What the hell do you think you're doing?!" she said angrily. Her voice echoed through the, now silent, cafeteria. How could she say that? Didn't she miss me too? Doesn't she want me to be with her? I was so confused. _Maybe this isn't Tris,_ I thought to myself disappointedly.

"I don't let random guys hug me," she snarled. A random guy? I'm not just a random guy! I'm her _boyfriend._ I love her, and she loves me. Well, she's supposed to love me. The pain and sorrow I was feeling was clearly displayed on my face. _But maybe it is her, she just doesn't recognize me!_ I thought. I know it's a stupid thought, but it's the last shred of hope I have that she's really alive.

"Tris, it's me, Four!" I looked at her pleadingly, hoping she'd know who I am. But her face remained blank, emotionless. Not a shred of recognition. And just like that, all hope inside me was gone. There's no way that Tris could possibly be alive. How could I have been so stupid as to think so? I guess the universe hates me after all.

Then the girl, who has a face I know so well, looked at me harshly, and opened her mouth as if to say something. She never got the chance to, though, because a furious Christina pulled her roughly off of me.

How come Zeke didn't come to help me? I glanced around the room and saw that he was pointing at me and laughing. Leave it to him to laugh during a moment like this. He probably finds it hilarious that a girl of that size could flip me.

I got up and straightened my back. I winced at the cracking noise it made. "What the hell was that for?!" I heard Christina yell. I turned to find her and the girl standing face to face; Christina with an angry expression on her face, the girl who _wasn't _Tris with a calm 'I don't give a shit about this' expression on her face.

Her calm expression was soon replaced with a glare at Christina about a second later. "He came at me. I was doing what _any_ trained Dauntless would do," she said venomously. Something flickered in her harsh expression again, perhaps pain? But it was gone as fast as the last one.

"You didn't have to judo-flip him!" Christina exclaimed. She had so much rage clearly displayed on her face, but I could also see the concern for me. It's nice how much Christina and I have grown closer over the past three years; we're always there to fight for each other. But this was my battle. It wasn't _even_ a battle, more like a misunderstanding of faces. She shouldn't be the one fighting over something as silly as a personality mix-up.

"Would you rather have had me break his nose?" the girl said smugly. "I could have also knocked him out. It would've been so easy." She smirked. This girl is cocky. Now I'm sure that she isn't Tris.

"You think you're all that, don't you? Well I'm going to show you how a _real _fighter does it," Christina growled. This wasn't going to end well. And knowing Christina, she was going to be the one to throw the first punch.

Christina pulled back her fist, which confirmed my suspicions. I couldn't let her punch the girl, not for a mistake I made, so dashed up beside her and grabbed her hand before she could strike. "Christina, its fine," I said quietly. If only Tris were here; she would know how to calm Christina down. If Tris were here, everyone would be happy. But she's gone; forever.

Christina turned to me and shot me a questioning glance. "But she freaking _flipped_ you! You're not mad?!" she yelled. I shook my head. Christina was overreacting. Am I dead? No. Am I even remotely injured? No. Well maybe I am… I'll have to check on that later.

"No, I deserved it," I told her. I turned to the girl. "I'm sorry for running up to you like that." I looked away. "I thought you were… someone else," I mumbled. She kept trying to catch my eyes, but I wouldn't let her. If she looked into them, she'd be able to see my disappointment and pain.

"Some girl… Tris?" she questioned. I nodded. Maybe I'd end up liking her after all; her voice held no sympathy even though she clearly knew that I was upset about the topic. She wasn't looking at me like I was a kicked puppy, she was looking at me like I was strong, she was looking at me… like Tris did.

"Sorry for flipping you," she said sheepishly. I felt an ache in my stomach; she reminded me so much of Tris when she's looking at me apologetically. "It's kind of an instinct now;" she explained, "working in the Fringe for 2 years can do that to you."

I gave her a small smile. "That's fine. I hope we can be friends someday…" I paused, searching my brain for a memory of her telling me what her name was. I came up with nothing. "Um, sorry, but I didn't catch your name." She smiled at me. "Zoë. Zoë Nightshade," she said a little uncertainly. It was as if she forgot her own name.

"Well then I hope we can be friends someday, Zoë," I said. Christina glared at me. Oh no, she's still mad, isn't she? "That's it?!" she exclaimed. "'I hope we can be friends someday.'? She flipped you! She looked prepared to beat you up!" I just shrugged. Why was she overreacting about all of this? What was the big deal?

She huffed and glared at Zoë instead. "I'm watching you, Red," she said, her voice filled with anger. She stormed off to her room. And that was the Candor smart-mouth I knew so well. Zoë called after her, "I have a name!" Christina didn't bother to look back.

I didn't want to dwell on the fact that I'd have to talk with her about this later, so I said to Zoë, "Come on, let's sit down. Give her some time to cool off." Once the heat of the moment is gone, Christina will come back to her senses. I led her over to the table with the rest of my friends, and we sat down. Zeke burst out laughing as soon as he saw me.

"Wow, dude, cant' believe a little girl like Zoë could flip you like that!" Everyone laughed, except me. I suppose I should be offended, considering the fact that Zoë only flipped me because I thought she was Tris. It seemed cruel for all of them to laugh at something like mistaking someone for a dead person, but I wouldn't hold them against it. I had to admit, it was kind of funny, and my major embarrassment out there must have been entertaining for them. So I only blushed, my face heating up.

Zoë rolled her eyes and smirked. "Well I'm glad you enjoyed it…" she trailed off, not knowing Zeke's name and waiting for him to finish the sentence. "Zeke," he said. "And the wheelchair girl is Shauna." She glared at him for the stupid nickname. "The blond over there is Cara, and the girl sitting next to her is Lauren," he explained. Zoë nodded, taking in the new information.

"Well I'm glad you enjoyed it, Zeke, because obviously Christina didn't. Is she always like that?" she asked, genuine curiousity on her face. Lauren gave her a pointed look. Lauren said, "No, but you would be like that too if someone came in and judo-flipped your boyfriend." I winced at the word boyfriend. I would never get used to me and Christina being a couple.

I saw Alex and Drake look at Zoë, as if to gauge her reaction to this new piece of information. Why would they want to do that? It's not that big of a deal; we're just dating. I glanced at Zoë myself to see if her expression changed.

Her expression remained the same; blank. But I saw something in her eyes… jealousy? Why would she be jealous? I had to have read her wrong; maybe she just wanted Dauntless cake or something.

Zeke asked everyone, "Hey, are all of you coming to my party tonight?" Everyone at the table nodded. Well, everyone except for Zoë. She seemed to be completely tuned out; her mind was far from the conversation. All of us looked at her, waiting for her to say something.

Alex, who was sitting beside her, said, "Zoë? Zoë? Zoë!" Alex shook Zoë's shoulder roughly. Zoë seemed to break out of whatever reverie she was in. Alex looked at her expectantly. "Well? Answer the question."

She looked at all of us confused. "Um… What was the question?" I expected that she wasn't paying attention. I smirked. Alex gave her an annoyed look, but answered, "Zeke is having a party tonight at his place. You want to come? Everyone else here is coming too." The rest of us nodded in confirmation.

Zoë contemplated her answer, looking conflicted. Finally, she sighed. "I'll go!" she said enthusiastically. "But only if there's cake," she joked, giving Zeke a look.

Zeke rolled his eyes. "Please. What's a party without cake?" Everyone at the table laughed, including Zoë. Her laugh was so much like Tris'…

Alex grabbed Zoë's arm and pulled her to her feet. "Where are we going?" she asked. Alex raised her eyebrows at her. "You couldn't expect me to let you go to a party without me giving you a makeover, did you?" she asked as if it were obvious.

Of course. It was just like Alex to do something like this.

Zoë groaned, as if to say, 'What have I just gotten myself into?'

**A/N: Why do you guys like this terribly written story so much? Anyways, I'm sorry if I made Christina seem like a bitch in this chapter and the one before this. This isn't one of those stories where Christina is a bitch, but how would you feel if someone came in and judo-flipped your boyfriend? You'd be pretty pissed, right? And Christina can have a temper sometimes. I wanted Christina and Zoë to have a bad start in this story, but they'll grow closer as the story progresses. Please tell me your honest opinions in the reviews. You can praise the story, or you can completely trash it, I don't care. I just want you guys' opinions. Thanks for reading! ~Erica**


	7. Chapter 6

**A/N: Hey initiates! Thank you guys for all the nice reviews! And ZOMG THE DIVERGENT MOVIE COMES OUT ON FRIDAY! It's so close, guys! This chapter is very boring, so I don't know if you guys will like it. Well here's the chapter. Enjoy reading! **

**Tris POV**

Alex brought me to her apartment and led me through the door. She had an excited expression on her face; she was really going to enjoy giving me a makeover.

"Okay, Tris!" she said enthusiastically. "Because I'm a nice person," I raised my eyebrows. She just ignored me. "I'm going to let you pick what you'll wear to the party!"

I glanced down at the clothes I was wearing now: I black tank top, a leather jacket, tight black jeans, and black boots. I looked back up at Alex. "Can't I go wearing this?" I asked. She wrinkled her nose in disgust. "You're going to a Dauntless party dressed like _that?_" Alex gestured to me clothes.

I rolled my eyes. "Alex, I think you and I both know that these clothes are better than the ones I wore in Abnegation." She shuddered, as if the image of my gray, baggy clothes terrified her. "Well then forget my earlier offer; I can't let you dress yourself if you're not going to pick something nice. I am going to dress you for this party. No questions or protests; just do it," she said in a commanding tone.

"I don't even want to go, let alone get all dressed up for it. I've never even _been_ to a real party before!" I said. She looked at me in horror. "Beatrice Prior, you've never been to a party before?!" she yelled. "Shush!" I said. "Do you want everyone in Dauntless hearing my real name?" She put a hand to her mouth. "Sorry," she said in a quieter voice.

"No, I have never been to a party," I said. I raised my eyebrows at her. "Come on, you know that I'm from Abnegation. I've never eaten a _hamburger_ before I got here. What did you expect?" Alex grinned widely. "Well then I am escorting you to your very first party. There's going to be games, drinking, and hopefully lots of sexy guys." She wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.

I gave her a look. "The only guy I'm interested in dating goes by the name of Tobias Eaton," I stated strongly. It was true. Tobias will always have my heart; even if I no longer have his. Alex sighed. "Come on, Tris, you need to find someone else. Or at least pretend to find someone. You need to get a new boyfriend; you can have Tobias back when all of this is over."

I opened my mouth to say something; to protest, to say that being with someone else would be betraying Tobias. But I was interrupted by a knock on the door. Alex was about to go answer it, when Drake opened the door without invitation. He shut the door behind him and nonchalantly walked in with his hands in his pockets.

Alex gave him an annoyed look, saying, "Ever heard of someone saying, 'Come in,' when someone knocks on the door?" Drake smirked. "The knocking was just a formality; I was going to come in anyways," he said. She glared at him. "For all you know, Tris could've been changing clothes," she pointed out. He smiled widely. "I know; that was _why_ I came in."

I threw a pillow at him. "Perverted ass!" I yelled. "A _sexy_ perverted ass," he retorted, gesturing to himself. Alex appeared to think about something for a moment, and suddenly her eyes sparked. She jumped up and down like a mad man. "Guys, I just thought of something!" Drake and I looked at her expectantly. "Well, are you going to tell us?" Drake snapped. "Or are you going to continue jumping up and down like a lunatic?"

Alex glared, but stopped jumping and said, "So, Tris, you know how I was saying that you need to find someone else, or at least pretend to?"

I narrowed my eyes, suspecting where this was going. "Yes," I answered cautiously. She smiled widely. "Well then why don't you and Drake pretend to date? It'll be perfect!"

"No!" Drake and I exclaimed at the same time. "Why do I even need a fake boyfriend?" I asked. "What's so important about it?" She looked at me impatiently, as if she had expected me to immediately understand the importance of the situation.

"Tris, what kind of badass Dauntless chick doesn't have a hot boyfriend?" Alex asked. I raised my eyebrows at her. "Did you just call Drake hot?" Drake grinned. "Yeah, Alex, did you just call me hot?" Alex rolled her eyes. "While you, Drake, may be an annoying asshole, you still are pretty hot. Even I have to admit that." She said all of this nonchalantly, but based on the blush on her face, she was embarrassed.

I thought about it. I don't know that many Dauntless girls without boyfriends, but me being like this was just an act. And how could Drake and I possibly pretend to date? He might be a good friend, but boyfriend? I don't think so. "And if I say no?" I questioned.

"Then I'll make you," Alex answered flatly. "And Tris; think about it. You need to build a whole different life and personality, so why not start off with a boyfriend? It'll give you an air of normalcy. If you go around here being all mysterious, then no one will trust you. Dating Drake will make you seem less mysterious, show other people that you have a life and someone you really trust."

Drake raised one eyebrow. I was always jealous of his ability to do that; I can only raise both my eyebrows at the same time. "And what if I don't want to do it?" he asked. Alex glared at him. "Then I'll tell everyone in Dauntless that you're afraid of butterflies."

Drake's eyes widened. He's always had a ridiculous fear of butterflies. "You wouldn't dare," he challenged. Alex crossed her arms over her chest. "I think we both know that I would," she said. I rolled my eyes. "What's so scary about them anyways?" I asked.

"They have papery wings, and their bodies are just so weird! Have you ever seen their tongues when they drink nectar? It is so gross! And then they look so creepy when they're in the chrysalis!" Drake said, shuddering.

I couldn't help it, I laughed. Alex said, "Well would you like everyone in Dauntless to know about your stupid fear?" Drake shook his head. Alex smiled. "Then pretend to date Tris, for at least a month."

I butted into the conversation, saying, "Here, Alex, I'll think about it. I'll tell you if I decide to date fake date Drake later. Okay?"

Alex looked satisfied. "Okay," she answered.

"Now," she said, "Drake get your ass-" Drake interrupted her. "_Sexy_ ass." Alex rolled her eyes. "Get your _annoying _ass out of the room. Its girl time and I'm going to make Tris look pretty!" Drake walked out of the room, mumbling, "I'll never understand girls." He probably didn't mean for us to hear him, but Alex definitely did. "Hey, Drake! One of these girls is your soon to be girlfriend!" she yelled after him.

Drake yelled back, "You and I aren't going to be dating any time soon, Alex!" Alex put an annoyed expression on her face reserved especially for Drake. "Not me, you asshole! I meant Tr- Zoë!" she corrected herself quickly, almost forgetting that they were yelling at each other from across the hall.

Drake ignored her, and she huffed and shut the door. She sighed. "He's annoying as hell," she said, annoyed. I answered, "Tell me about it." She changed her expression from annoyed to enthusiastic. "Well enough about Drake," she said, "we need to start getting ready for the party."

Alex started rummaging through her closet, looking for a dress to wear. "I know it's in here somewhere," she mumbled. "Ah, here it is!" she said, pulling out a white dress with a gold sash wrapped around the waist. It looked pretty modest; it didn't seem to show that much skin. Alex tossed it to me. "Go to the bathroom and put that on. I'm going to try to find shoes to go with it."

I nodded obediently; glad she didn't choose something that would look like a shirt on me. I retreated into the small bathroom connected to her room. I pulled on the white dress, and looked at myself in the mirror. The dress was beautiful; it had a sweetheart neckline, and it hugged my body in all the right places to make me look curvier than I actually was. It had sleeves that ended just after my shoulder. The sash fit snugly to my waist, and the bottom half of the dress was nice and loose. I was right when I said it didn't show that much skin; the dress ended just above my knees and didn't show too much cleavage.

I went back into the room to see Alex looking through her closet for shoes. She looked up at the sound of me coming in, and her jaw dropped. "Holy shit, Tris! You look amazing!" I blushed. A year ago I would never have been able to pull this off, but now that my body has filled out I actually feel… pretty for once.

Alex grinned widely. "See? This is what happens when you let me make you over! You look absolutely stunning in this dress! I might not even have to put makeup on you!"

I smiled. "Yes!" I screamed, punching the air. Alex rolled her eyes. "Don't get too excited; I'm still doing your hair and picking out your shoes." I groaned. "Fine, but no high heels, okay? I can't walk in those," I said. How could anyone in Dauntless walk around the Pit with high heels?

Alex huffed. "Fine, no high heels. But what about these shoes?" She held up a pair of simple gold flats. I smiled and nodded. I grabbed the shoes and put them on. They fit perfectly, not too big or small. "You like them, huh?" Alex said. "I thought you would. Not extravagant but still cute."

She was right, but I would never let her know that. If she did, she would make me do this more often. So, instead I changed the subject. "Are you going to do my hair, or not?" Alex's eyes brightened. "Of course I will! Go sit in the chair by the vanity table!"

I walked over to the vanity and sat in the plush red chair. Alex followed and pulled out a curling iron. "I'm going to try to keep it simple," she stated. "You like simple, and simplicity suits you." I nodded. Growing up in a place like Abnegation has made me prefer simple things, and I'm still not used to wearing anything that will make me stand out. But this is a nice change, a way to get out of my comfort zone.

After Alex was done curling my hair, she set the curling iron down and proclaimed, "Done!" She looked at my reflection in the mirror. "Oh, Tris… you look stunning." I looked at myself in the mirror as well.

My hair was simple, just as Alex promised; the curly red tendrils fell down my back and framed my face perfectly. The white and gold on the dress went well with my red hair, and my green eyes popped. Alex was right; I looked stunning.

It was a relief that we had gotten my tattoos removed while I was in the past, or else I would have had to wear a jacket over this so no one would recognize me. But it was sad too; they were the last symbols of what my life was like in Dauntless before the war. It pained me to know that I wouldn't have a life like that again. The happiness my friends had given me went down the drain with their deaths, and Dauntless will never be the same as it was before.

Alex broke me out of my reverie, saying, "Well I need to get ready now! Go sit on my bed and wait; I might be a while." I wasn't surprised.

About an hour and a half later we were off to Zeke's apartment. Alex took forever to get ready. She was wearing a red v-neck dress that was strapless and ended at about mid thigh. Her dark hair was in a side braid, and she wore deep red lipstick. She looked beautiful.

When we got to the door to Zeke's apartment, Alex looped her arm through mine, and said, "Ready for your first party ever?"

I breathed deeply. "Ready."

Alex smiled at me and opened the door.

**A/N: I'm sorry if this chapter bored you; it was more of a filler chapter. I got lazy towards the end; you could tell that the writing got sloppy. What do you guys want to happen at the party? Leave your suggestions in the reviews, and thanks for reading! ~Erica**


	8. Chapter 7

**A/N: You guys are making me so happy with all the nice reviews I'm getting! You're all sooo sweet! I'm sorry I disappeared for a while. School is really busy! AND ZOMG GUYS I AM GOING TO SEE THE DIVERGENT MOVIE TODAY! Have any of you guys seen it yet? Anyways, here's the chapter, and I hope you enjoy reading!**

**Tris POV**

As soon as Alex and I walked through the door, I came to a conclusion: I hated parties. The music was loud and booming, and everyone was clumped close together jumping up and down. Is this what they called dancing?!

You could smell the alcohol in the air, and someone was in the corner puking. There was even a couple making out on the couch. Alex grinned widely and breathed deeply, as if she enjoyed the smell of sweaty bodies, alcohol, and barf. Maybe she did.

"This is an awesome party! Much better than the ones in my time!" she said. I looked at her shocked. "This is what you call a party?!" I yelled. Not because I was mad, but because it was the only way she could hear me over the music

Alex rolled her eyes. "Come on, Zoë!" Then, she whispered quietly in my ear, "You chose badass Dauntless as your personality; act like it." She straightened up her back and smiled as if she hadn't said anything. "Now let's go find some of our friends; we look like losers standing in the middle of the doorway."

She grabbed my hand and started dragging me through the sea of sweaty bodies, searching for someone we knew. Finally, she spotted Zeke, Tobias, and Drake on the couch. Each of them held a bottle of beer in their hands, and they all started laughing at something Zeke said.

**Tobias POV**

Drake, Zeke, and I were all still laughing at Zeke's stupid story when we heard a voice say, "Sup, guys!" We all turned our heads to look at Alex, each one of us saying, "Hey," or "Hi." She was wearing a red, v-neck, strapless dress. Nothing surprising; the same extravagant clothes Alexandra Daddario would wear to a party.

Then, we all looked at Zoë.

When she had first met me in the cafeteria, she was wearing all black. She radiated confidence, toughness, and a 'You don't want to mess with me' aura. Well, that's the kind of aura she radiated when she _wasn't _hiding behind her hair.

But she looked completely different now. She was wearing a white dress that hugged her body in all the right places and gold flats. Her hair was hanging freely, and it framed her face perfectly. She was beautiful. Right now, she radiated insecurity and vulnerability, but if you looked carefully, you could see that she was still someone you shouldn't mess with. The aura she radiated now surprised me; it was the kind of aura… that Tris used to have.

Apparently I wasn't the only one surprised based on Zeke's reaction. Zeke knew Tris too; I could tell he recognized the aura Zoë gave off. Zeke's eyes were practically popping out of his head.

But Drake was standing there casually, as if this entirely different aura didn't surprise him. He had never known Tris, but shouldn't he notice the change? But he did shoot Zoë a warning glance. Why did he shoot her that warning glance? Was she doing something wrong? Why did Zoë's sudden new fashion and personality change not surprise him? Was Zoë masking what she was really like earlier? Or did Drake know something we didn't?

I didn't have too much time to dwell on it, though; Zoë saw Zeke and I gawking and put back up her badass Dauntless chick personality. "What are you pansycakes staring at?" she snapped. She glared at me and Zeke. "Oh, Zoë Nightshade is wearing a dress. Call the press!" she said sarcastically.

Zeke blushed and mumbled, "Sorry. You just seemed different…" I kept my face neutral. I couldn't let her know she surprised me for even a second. It was a sign of vulnerability and weakness, and I don't think a girl like her would appreciate those qualities.

"I seem different, huh? How?" Zoë questioned, raising both eyebrows. Zeke stuttered for an answer, something that wouldn't offend her. "Um… I… uh…" He nudged me; he wanted me to help him out. I shook my head rapidly, unable to think of anything to say.

How were we supposed to explain that Zoë looked like my dead girlfriend?

Death; what a horrible concept. I used to stay up at night, telling myself, _Tris is still alive_, over and over again, to try and make it true. But I learned that saying something repeatedly makes it lose meaning. I learned that language does not immortalize the lost. Language can bury, but it can't resurrect.

Zoë stood there impatiently, crossing her arms over her chest and tapping her foot. Drake just smirked and said, "Come on, Zoë, don't you get it? They think you look hot!" Zeke and I blushed. Were we supposed to deny that? No, that would seem rude. But we can't confirm it either. A girl like Zoë would never let us live this down.

Alex and Zoë both smirked. "Oh, you guys can thank me for that!" Alex said. "She finally let me give her a makeover. She looks pretty sexy tonight, doesn't she?"

What am I supposed to say? Zeke isn't going to be any help; he's just as lost as I am. I opened my mouth to say something about a couple stripping in the middle of the floor behind her or another thing like that, when Lauren and Shauna saved us by walking up.

"Hey, guys. Christina is still getting ready, and Cara is helping her, so we're here!" Lauren greeted. She was wearing a tight black shirt, skinny jeans, and combat boots. Typical Lauren clothes. Shauna was wearing a long green dress and black heels. Typical Shauna clothes. "Hey, babe." Zeke greeted. He stood up from the couch, and leaned down so he could kiss her cheek while she was in her wheelchair.

Lauren put an annoyed look on her face. "What, you're not going to say hey to me?" Zeke rolled his eyes. "God, Lauren, I _was_ going to say hey. But I'd rather say hey to my _girlfriend _that I've been dating for _three years_ first," he said.

"I'm still surprised that she hasn't broken up with you yet," Lauren retorted. Zeke glared at her. "She hasn't broken up with me, because I'm fucking awesome!" Zeke exclaimed.

Shauna butted into the conversation, saying, "You people are talking about me like I'm not in the room!"

Zoë ignored her and gave Zeke a pointed look. "You so sure about that, Zeke? If your best friend is some dude who could be flipped by a small girl like me, I don't think you're that great," she said jokingly. Okay, maybe I shouldn't have worried about offending her.

"Don't insult me because Four is weak!" Zeke protested. "You should insult _him_ for that." And maybe I should've reconsidered staying in my apartment… especially on Tris' three year death anniversary. Oh well, too late now.

I glared at Zoë. "Please, you only flipped me because I was caught by surprise." Zoë smirked. "Come on, Four. I could take you _anytime_, _anyplace_. Bring it on, Number Dude." She motioned with her hands in a 'Come at me,' gesture.

"Ooooo," everyone chorused. She just challenged me. And I can't turn her down, because that's not what Dauntless do. That, and I have too much pride to turn down such a challenge. So, I smirked. "You got it, Red," I said, using the nickname Christina gave her earlier. She shot me a glare, and I know that I succeeded in annoying her.

Zeke smiled and said, "Well then let's go take this fight to the training room." Our group of friends whooped. I guess I'm going to have to fight Zoë.

**A/N: This chapter was meant to be longer, but I wanted to update because so many people were asking. I'll try to finish the next chapter soon, and thanks for reading! ~Erica**


	9. Chapter 8

**A/N: Sorry for not updating in a while, guys! Sorry if the fighting scene in this chapter is bad; I don't know anything about fighting. Anyways, I hope you enjoy reading!**

**Tobias POV**

We led Zoë through the maze that is the Pit to the training room, since she didn't know her way around. When we all got to the training room, I realized something; Zoë was in a dress. She can't fight in a dress.

"Hey, Zoë," I said mockingly to her. "Sure you can fight me in a dress?" I expected her to rethink her decision to fight me, but Zoë just smirked. "I think it would be easier to fight in a dress," she said, tapping her chin. "It would give your legs freer movement. And who really cares if you flash people your underwear, as long as you're kicking the crap out of them?"

I couldn't help it; I laughed. It was such a stupid statement, yet it held a certain spark of brilliance to it. Everyone else was laughing too; everyone except Shauna. Her face had turned pale, and she was looking at Zoë wide-eyed.

Everyone continued with conversation, probably betting on who would win, but I scrunched my eyebrows together and asked Shauna, "Is something wrong?" She barely nodded her head. She suddenly reached up and pulled me down so my head was level with hers. She quietly said, "Four, did you hear what Zoë just said?" I cautiously answered, "Yeah… she was saying how it would be easier to fight in a dress."

Shauna nodded her head vigorously. "That's exactly it, Four! Marlene said almost those exact words before she… you know." She couldn't finish the sentence. It still pained all of us to talk about our friends who died in the war. I raised my eyebrows. "So? Why are you freaking out about it?" I questioned.

"_So,_" she said, dragging out the word, "Zoë said Marlene's _exact words._ And there were only two other people who were with her when she said it. They were Lynn and…" she paused for dramatic effect. "Tris."

I glanced around the room, checking to see if anyone was listening, but everyone had carried on in the conversation without us. "How do you know about this if you weren't there?" I asked her. She sighed. "Lynn told me about it before she… died," she answered sorrowfully.

My heart started beating loudly in my chest. "Do you think it's a coincidence?" I said. Because if it wasn't… a spark of hope flickered inside me. Shauna raised her eyebrows. "After everything that's happened, Four, do you really think there is a such thing as coincidences?"

I opened my mouth to respond, to say that this _had_ to be a coincidence. If Tris was alive, why would she hide her identity? Why would she come back here and act completely different? But Zoë/maybe Tris cut me off, saying, "Come on, Four, stop flirting with your friend's girlfriend and get over here!"

I glared at her. "I wasn't flirting," I said flatly. She rolled her eyes. "I would hope not. Christina would kill you, and Zeke would gladly help her."

Zeke interrupted our argument, saying, "Get into the ring and fight already!" I looked at him questionably. "She's going to fight me in a dress?"

Zoë rolled her eyes at me. "I thought we went over this, Four. It would be much easier to fight in a dress!" Her annoyed look turned into an arrogant one. "And besides, remember what I said earlier? I could fight you _anyplace, anytime_."

Drake cleared his throat. "Actually, you said," he made his voice high pitched, "'Come on, Four. I could take you anytime, anyplace. Bring it on, Number Dude.'" He imitated Zoë's 'Come at me' gesture in the sassiest and most ridiculus way possible. We all laughed at his poor imitation, except for Zoë, who glared at him.

"Why the hell do you bother to remember that?!" she said, annoyed. Drake tapped his head. "I have a photographic memory, remember?" Drake said slowly, as if he were speaking to a toddler. Zoë glared at him agian, but didn't say anything.

"Stop standing around talking and fight!" Zeke yelled. I put an irritated look on my face. "Fine. Everyone stand back and watch me beat up this little girl," I said. Zoë and I stepped into the ring. No one protested against the fact that I would win; except for Zoë.

She looked at me coldly. "Don't you _dare_ underestimate me," she growled. "I can beat the living shit out of you." For a moment, I saw a flash of something. Something in her face reminded me… reminded me of Tris. Tris' fierce determination. Tris' stubbornness. Tris' undercurrent of pride that not many people saw. But it was gone as soon as she smirked. "Just ask Drake," she said in such an arrogant way that I was almost positive this couldn't be Tris. Tris would never be so arrogant. Tris would never taunt someone as much as Zoë always did. Tris wouldn't hide her identity from everyone. But I still had my reasons for hope.

"That was not a fair fight! You fucking tripped me!" Drake screamed.

Zoë had an arrogant expression on her face. "Keep telling yourself that, Drake. Whatever will keep your pride intact."

Drake opened his mouth to protest, but I cut him off. "Will you two shut up?! I have a fight to win," I said cockily. Zoë smirked. "Okay, now everyone observe how you beat up a guy 8 inches taller than you while wearing a freaking _dress._"

I cocked an eyebrow, and questioned, "And how do you suppose you'd do that?" Then, faster than I thought possible, Zoë darted forward and punched me right in the jaw. While I was disoriented, she took the opportunity to kick me in the stomach. Damn, she can move _fast._

I doubled over, but only briefly. I couldn't let her win. I _wouldn't_ let her win. I raised my fist and aimed a punch at her nose, but she dodged to the side at the last moment and I ended up hitting her shoulder. She gave a small grunt, but didn't slow down.

Zoë kicked me in the shin, and I sucked in a breath. She pulled back her arm to punch me, but I grabbed her arm before it came in contact with my face and twisted it behind her back.

I expected her to surrender, to at least take time to contemplate her next move, but it took her less than a second to adapt to this new position. She used her left arm, the one I wasn't holding, and elbowed me right in the nose.

I released her, the pain in my nose shooting through the rest of my body. I felt warm blood flow down my mouth and chin, and I reached up to touch my nose. I was completely distracted, and I didn't notice Zoë pull back her leg and knee me in the groin. I noticed how she wasn't kicking high or anything like that; maybe she actually _was_ worried she'd flash me her underwear.

I doubled over, the pain much more than when I got kicked in the stomach. I heard Zeke shout, "Oh, she just kneed him where _no_ guy wants to be kneed!" I thought to myself bitterly, _Damn right, Zeke_. Zoë ignored Zeke, her face a block of stone; unreadable.

But still I saw something in her eyes; pain. Why was she this painful for her? I didn't even land a blow on her. Could it be emotional pain? But what kind of emotional pain could she possibly be in? I didn't have too much time to dwell on it, though. Zoë swept my feet out from under me, and I fell to the ground.

I restrained a groan of pain. I couldn't show any weakness; not to her, not to everyone watching the fight, and not to myself. I always liked to believe that physical pain was much less painful than emotional; I think I should know that more than anybody. At least physical pain goes away eventually. Emotional stays with you forever. Physical, I can deal with.

Zoë pinned my arms and legs to the floor with her own. I tried to get free, to flip her over so that the tables would turn, but I couldn't break out of her grasp. I had lost. Zoë smirked and lowered her face down to my ear. "I win," she whispered lightly.

My breath hitched, although I don't know why. I don't know why Zoë's close proximity made my heart race faster than it already was. I don't know why I feel butterflies in my stomach. I don't know why her touch sent fire coursing through my veins. I especially don't know why I enjoyed all of it.

Instead of showing my confusion, I glared up at her. "That was beginner's luck," I stated flatly, even though I knew it was pure skill that caused her to beat me. I would never admit that, though. "Oh really? Would a 'beginner' be able to practically break your nose, knee you in the groin, and pin you to the floor?" a voice said. I looked around the room as best I could while pinned to the floor for the source of the voice.

I saw Christina standing there with an amused look on her face. She was amused by all of this? I observed what she was wearing. A silver dress with sequins sprinkled all over. It was tight, as in _really_ tight, and she was wearing silver heels at least 5 inches tall.

I glared at her, too. "I'm glad to know that you're amused by my suffering," I said, sarcasm dripping from my voice. Christina rolled her eyes. "You'd be surprised at how hilarious it was. She beat the shit out of you!" Everyone in the room laughed, obviously enjoying my failure.

I felt my cheeks heat up, and mumbled, "Get off me," to Zoë. She got up and dusted herself off, as if she was the one who had been pinned to the floor. She hadn't even broken a sweat. She wasn't breathing hard. I don't think she even found the fight that difficult.

Zoë held out her hand to me, offering to help me up, but I ignored it and got up myself. Her small act of selflessness reminded me of something Tris would do. Lots of things she did reminded me of Tris. But other things led me to believe that Zoë could never be the same girl I had fallen in love with 3 years ago. She shrugged and let her hand drop, handling the situation with nonchalance. "Good fight, Four," she said, trying to be at least a little bit humble. I appreciated it, but I didn't want it.

When I didn't answer, she continued in more of a Zoë-like tone. "It was a good fight, but I still beat you up. What'd I tell you? I could beat the living shit out of you," she said, her voice holding so much arrogance that it was overwhelming. How could this possibly be Tris if Zoë acted like _this?_

I stood and glared at her. Zoë flashed a smirk I've come to know so well even though I've only known her for a few hours. That proves just how much she smirks.

"Deal with it, Number Dude. You got your ass kicked by a girl, and your such a wuss that you can't deal with it," she stated flatly, like it was something everyone knew but I had never heard about.

Drake butted in, saying, "And the Red-Haired Wonder strikes again." I was confused by the nickname. Where'd that come from?

Zoë wasn't surprised, though. It looked like Drake called her that all the time. She just glared at him. "Drake Calix Leger, you know how much I hate that nickname!"

Drake smirked a smirk that was so similar to Zoë's, it was like one had simply imitated the other's smirk. "It's your fault you're so perfect all the time," Drake said, clearly annoyed but still smug that he managed to get on her nerves.

Zoë put a hand to her heart and put a fake look of happiness on her face. "You think I'm perfect all the time? Aw, Drake, it's good to know you care!" she said mockingly. Everyone laughed except for Drake. He just glared at her.

"You know I didn't mean it that way," he mumbled. Alex rolled her eyes. "Oh really?" she said with an amused expression on her face. "I think we all know you _definitely_ meant it. You like her!"

Drake and Zoë both glared at Alex. "Would you stop that?!" Drake said. "Zoë and I don't like each other! Never have, never will." I was entertained by their arguments, the way they fought. They seemed close; like brothers and sisters, caring for each other but never intending to actually admit it.

"He's in denial," Zeke sang. Lauren went over and patted Drake's shoulder. "You don't have to be like this, Drake. Just admit you like Zoë, and we'll all live happily ever after." Drake pushed her arm off his shoulder and glared at all of us. I seriously doubted Drake liked Zoë. He was never the type of guy to get tied down to one girl. Whenever he met a girl, he flirted without actually caring about the girl.

But it was different with Zoë; he treated her like he actually cared about what happened to her, aside from annoying her all the time. Could he actually like her?

I shook my head. I'd known Drake for a while now, and he would never even _think_ of having a real relationship. He was a huge player. But still, the prospect of Drake possibly dating Zoë made my heart ache. I don't know why. Why should I care about who they date? I can't do anything about it, and it's not like I actually cared.

Zoë chose to ignore the topic completely; was that good or bad? Instead, she turned to Christina. "So you're okay with the fact that I beat up your boyfriend?" Her voice seemed to catch on the word boyfriend, but I'm sure I only imagined it.

Christina grinned. "Why would I be mad? It was so awesome to see someone like Four get beat up like that!" Zoë raised her both her eyebrows. "Well," Zoë said. "You got pretty pissed when I flipped him earlier."

Christina blushed and scratched the back of her neck sheepishly. "I'm sorry about that," she apologized. "I overreacted." I was surprised. Christina almost _never_ apologizes. It took a lot for Christina to suck up her pride.

Zoë sighed. "I'm sorry, too. I shouldn't have flipped him like that." She gave Christina an apologetic look. I was even more surprised that Zoë apologized. She seemed to have much more pride than Christina did. What about Christina made Zoë want to suck up her pride?

Christina grinned. "How about this; we forget about the entire situation and be friends. Deal?" Zoë grinned back. "Deal," she said happily.

Christina walked up to Zoë and linked her arm through hers. "I think we'll be good friends, Red." Christina said with certainty.

I expected Zoë to be annoyed at the use of the nickname, but she just grinned.

"I think so, too, Chrissy. I think so too." Something sparked in Zoë's eyes, as if she knew something we didn't. She probably did. Christina ignored the nickname.

Zeke rolled his eyes. "Enough with this sappy friendship crap, let's get back to the party. I'm kind of concerned about what the state my apartment is in."

Christina yelled out, "Oh, oh, oh! Can we play Candor or Dauntless?!" Zeke grinned. "Sure, why not? You guys fine with that?" Everyone nodded in agreement.

I smirked. "Then let's go play some Candor or Dauntless."

Zeke glared at me. "You stole my line!"

**A/N: Well here you go! Leave suggestions for truths or dares in the reviews, please! Thanks for reading! ~Erica**


	10. Chapter 9

**A/N: So sorry I haven't updated in a while, I've been really busy! You actually don't see much Candor or Dauntless here; half of this is them arguing. I'm really sorry if this bores you, but I promise that next chapter will be full of them playing Candor or Dauntless! Enjoy reading!**

**Tris POV**

Alex rolled her eyes at Zeke. "We don't have lines, Zeke." He glared at her. "We _totally_ have lines! I was supposed to say, 'Then let's go play some Candor or Dauntless.'"

I raised my eyebrows. "Does it matter?"

"Of course it matters!" Zeke exclaimed. "I was supposed to build the suspense like a total badass, but now Four sounds more badass than I am!"

Tobias' lips quirked up in a way I loved so much. "I think we all know that Four was _always_ more badass than you are," Drake stated flatly.

"And I'm more badass than all of you," I said, trying to sound cocky. I hope it was convincing.

Apparently it was, since Tobias glared at me. "You are _not_ badass." I raised my eyebrows and smirked. Am I smirking too much? I feel like I am.

"Says the guy who got his ass whooped by a small girl like me," I retorted. I may have said this with nonchalance, but I was dying inside. It killed me that I fought him. It killed me to know that I hurt him. It killed me to see the blood running down his face. Tobias rolled his eyes. "You're pretty hypocritical, you know," Tobias stated. "One minute you're saying that you're badass, and the next you say you're small and a girl. It's stupid."

I rolled my eyes externally, but on the inside I was scolding myself. I need to get better at hiding my real self. Tris would say that she was small and a girl. Tris would be self-deprecating. Zoë would say she was badass and tough. Zoë would be an arrogant ass that I was starting to get tired of portraying.

Christina butted in, saying, "This has to be the stupidest argument ever! Who the hell spends their time bickering about who the most badass person is? We have places to be, people to see, and Candor or Dauntless to play!"

Zeke rolled his eyes. "Fine. Let's go back to the apartment and make sure no assholes have trashed it."

We started walking through the Pit back to Zeke's apartment. It was a pretty long walk; his apartment was at the other end of the compound. I was about to go up to Tobias, just to talk to him, just to hear his voice, but Christina beat me to it. She walked up to him and they joined hands. Christina whispered something that caused him to blush and her to giggle. I felt sick with jealousy. How could I stand by and watch this? _I should be happy he moved on._ _I should be happy he moved on,_ I repeated to myself. I couldn't be jealous. But of course I was.

Tobias said something to Christina and released her hand. Thank goodness. He came to me and asked, "So how are you liking it here?" _Act nonchalant, _I said to myself. I raised my eyebrows at him. "You know I've been here, before, right? I joined Dauntless just after the war ended," I recited. I knew these words well, knew my story well. Drake and Alex practically drilled it into my brain.

Tobias blushed. "Oh… Right. O-of course," he stuttered. I smirked. "That was a good fight back there, by the way," I said. He rolled his eyes. "You already said that."

"But you didn't acknowledge that I said it."

"I would've if you hadn't continued on being your arrogant self," he shot back.

I sighed. "I'm trying to be nice right now. You'd be surprised at how hard that is for me." It was true. I always believed that I was horrible at being nice. I guess I passed that trait on to Zoë.

He gave me a questioning glance. "What's wrong with you?" he said suddenly. I expected a lot of different responses, things like '_Since when were you nice?'_ or '_You're not doing a very good job.' _Where did '_What's wrong with you?'_ play into this?

"Excuse me?" I raised my eyebrows. "Elaborate."

"One minute you're being an arrogant ass, the next you act like you actually care about others and their well-being. It's like you're fighting between two different personalities," he explained. I tried to ignore the panic rising in my throat, the nervous fluttering in my stomach. I hoped I wasn't visibly shaking. Is it so obvious that I'm pretending to be someone I'm not? That I'm hiding the real me, the person who doesn't exist anymore?

I shrugged, hiding my panic. He wouldn't figure me out. He couldn't. So I said, "I like to think that there's more to a person than just one thing. No one is _just_ the rebel. No one is _just_ the nerd. No one is _just_ that goodie-goodie helping everyone. There can be a combination of all three, couldn't there?" I realized only after I said this that I just described divergence.

He looked at me confused, but I could tell by the spark in his eyes that he found my statement true. "Spoken like a true Divergent. What were your test results?" My heart sped up and my palms became sweaty. Drake and Alex never went over this with me. I don't think they anticipated that someone would ask for my test results, especially now that the faction system was destroyed.

All they told me to say about my life with the faction system was that I was born in Candor and transferred to Erudite. When the war started, I helped the Dauntless fight Erudite. After the war I had changed my mind and joined Dauntless. Maybe I could say those three factions? I couldn't say what I actually got- Dauntless, Abnegation, and Erudite. Tobias would become very suspicious.

I was saved from answering the question when Drake came up beside me and gave me a different question to answer. "So, Red, are you excited to play Candor or Dauntless?"

I had no idea what Candor or Dauntless was. I didn't bother to ask; I could blow my cover. But based on the name, it probably had something to do with telling the truth and being brave. But I guess that was obvious and I should've figured that out earlier.

Instead of answering the question, I shot Drake a glare. "Is everyone calling me 'Red' now?"

"I could continue calling you 'Red-Haired Wonder' if you prefer that. Red is shorter and easier to say, though." I rolled my eyes. I should've chosen to dye my hair black. The worse I would've gotten out of that hair color was 'Raven-head' or 'Emo.'

"Red also gives you badass aura," Tobias added. Drake nodded. "And let's not forget that I find red-heads _hot_." He smirked. "So, Zoë, you could have a chance with me," he teased. I put a look of disgust on my face. "In your dreams, asshole."

"_Sexy_ asshole," Drake said.

"_Annoying_ asshole," I corrected.

"_Flirting_ asshole!" Alex yelled from behind us. She ran up and stood in front me, walking backwards so she could see our faces. "Geez, guys, stop flirting, it's making me sick."

Drake glared at her. "We are not flirting," he stated strongly. Alex raised her eyebrows and smirked. "Stop denying it, Drake. You like her." Alex made a heart with her hands.

"Alexandra Kristen Daddario, _I do not like her_!" Drake exclaimed."Oh, he just used her full name," I said. "Shit's about to go down." I really hate using profanity, but I guess Dauntless do it all the time. "No kidding," Tobias said.

Zeke caught up to us, asking, "What's this about shit going down?" I rolled my eyes. "Alex keeps saying that Drake and I like each other." I know she doesn't actually mean it. She just wants us to fake date like she told us to. Or she could just be doing this for her own amusement.

Zeke put a mock look of confusion on his face. "You mean you guys _don't_ like each other?" I punched his arm. Hard. "Holy shit!" he yelled. He turned to Tobias. "This girl can pack a punch! How did you fight against her without _dying_?!"

Tobias rolled his eyes. "This just proves my point. I _am_ more badass than you are."

"Not this again!" Christina exclaimed. "I thought we were done arguing about who the most badass person is."

"Well we know who the flirtiest people are," Alex said, giving Drake and I a pointed look. "We do not—" I interrupted Drake. "—Like each other." I finished for him.

"Aw, that's cute," Shauna said. "You guys complete each other's sentences."

Drake opened his mouth to snap at her, but we had reached the door to Zeke's apartment and didn't say anything.

Zeke opened the door, bracing himself for the chaos that comes from an unsupervised Dauntless party. The party was even more packed than before. Where are all of these people coming from?

People were way more drunk than before; I could see two girls dancing on the tables. Well, now only one girl is dancing on the table. The other passed out. There were people having drinking games in the kitchen, couples making out in corners, and… oh wait, I didn't need to see that. I blushed and looked at the floor.

Zeke was standing there, shocked at how wild people were acting. "Okay…" he said slowly. "Maybe we should play the game in my bedroom." Everyone nodded. I don't think they should be surprised at how wild this had gotten; we're in Dauntless after all.

Zeke led us through the maze of weird people and into his bedroom. His bedroom was a mess: clothes flung all over the floor, a moldy pizza under the bed, and guns hanging off the wall.

I looked around questionably. "You keep guns hanging on your walls?" I raised my eyebrows. Zeke looked genuinely confused. "You don't?"

Lauren rolled her eyes. "Zeke, nobody does. Is there something you'd like to tell us? Are you that killer that's been going around Dauntless?" she said sarcastically.

My ears perked up. What killer? "What killer?" Drake asked, voicing my thoughts. Lauren raised an eyebrow. I think I'm the only one who can't raise only one eyebrow.

"You didn't know? There's a killer that's been going around Dauntless. We don't know if it's exactly a killer, though. Random people just keep… disappearing." Drake and Alex's eyes widened. They were just as confused as I was.

"Since when?!" Drake exclaimed. Lauren turned to Zeke. "I thought I told you to fill them in on this," Zeke put his hands up in surrender. "I was going to tell them tomorrow! Geez, they just got back from a seven month mission, I'm not going to add more stress to them! I can be really considerate, you know," Zeke said seriously.

Shauna raised an eyebrow. I guess I _am_ the only one who can't raise an eyebrow. "And you've been considerate since… when?" Shauna said. He glared at her. "You know normal girlfriends would support their boyfriends in situations like this." Shauna smirked. "I'm not a normal girlfriend, now am I?"

"You're not a nice one either," Zeke mumbled. Shauna glared at him, but didn't say anything. I interrupted them, saying, "And you think it's a good idea to throw a party with a killer on the loose?" I raised my eyebrows.

"I thought it would be nice for you guys to have a nice 'Welcome home party' after being gone for so long!" Zeke said defensively. I glared at him. "Oh yeah, it's an _amazing_ idea to throw a party while a killer is on the loose. It's not like they could be hiding in the crowd waiting to kill us or anything like that," I said sarcastically. This was such a stupid and reckless idea. But I suppose it was nice of Zeke to do so.

Zeke rolled his eyes. "Relax, Red. I have all of this under control." I ignored the nickname. I raised my eyebrows. "Really? You so sure about that, Zeke?"

He glared at me. "Do we look dead? No. Do you feel dead? No. So we're fine."

I glared at him. "Don't be such an ass."

Christina butted in, saying, "This is the 20th time we've used the word 'ass.'"

Lauren raised her eyebrows. "You're seriously counting?"

Christina looked at her blankly. "You're not?"

Shauna rolled her eyes. "No one is."

Zeke clapped his hands together, interrupting us. "Okay, guys, enough with this 'ass' nonsense. The point is, I threw you an awesome party, and you should be thanking me."

I gave him a cold look. "I won't be thanking you as long as there's a murderer on the loose."

Zeke raised his eyebrows. "I can't believe this. Is Zoë Nightshade _scared_?" he said sarcastically.

I was starting to get frustrated. "Of getting killed? Hell yeah, I am!" I screamed. I already 'died' once. I'm not going to risk it again.

Tobias rushed in, trying to defuse the situation. "Let's think about this for a moment. If the killer were here, we'd probably be dead by now." He shot me a look. "But it was still stupid to throw a party with a killer going around." He gave Zeke a look this time.

Zeke put his hands up in surrender. "Fine, fine. It wasn't a good idea. But what's done is done, so can we just play the game now?"

I sighed. I suppose if anyone died, someone can just go back in time again… But Alex and Drake are right. Interfering with the passage of time is too dangerous to be doing frequently.

"Fine," I said in defeat. "But only if you give me your Dauntless cake tomorrow," I said with a smirk. I still need to keep up the attitude if I was going to save Chicago from whatever this threat was. Perhaps the threat could be the killer that's going around?

Zeke rolled his eyes. "Whatever you feel like, Red. " I glared at him for calling me Red _again._

Everyone made a circle in the middle of the room. We had to clear away some trash, though. Zeke's room was messy.

Zeke rubbed his hand together mischievously. "Since this is my apartment, I go first." I still was confused about what we were doing. I hoped to God he didn't call on me first. I'd have no idea what to do.

Luckily, the universe was on my side today. "Shauna," he said. "Candor or Dauntless?" I assume you ask someone 'Candor or Dauntless?' and they pick one. Then they have to tell the truth about something or do something brave? I don't know, but I guess I'm about to find out.

"Candor," Shauna said. Zeke rolled his eyes. "What, you too chicken to pick Dauntless?"

Shauna glared at him. "Knowing you, Zeke, you'd probably make me drink a bottle of hot sauce or something like that. Sorry, but I'd like to keep my stomach intact for tonight."

"Fine," Zeke huffed. "Rate the guys in hotness, one being the hottest." He straightened his back, fully expecting his girlfriend to rate him as number one.

Shauna looked around the room. "Well number one is an obvious choice," Shauna said. Zeke smiled with pride. "Four is definitely the hottest guy in the room," she continued. Zeke's smile immediately faded, and Tobias smirked. Christina glared at Shauna, giving her a look that said 'back off.' I didn't mind that she thought Tobias was the hottest guy in the room. He _was_.

"How am I not the hottest guy in the room?!" Zeke exclaimed.

Tobias smirked. "Looks like I'm hotter _and_ more badass than you are. Even your girlfriend thinks so."

Zeke blushed and mumbled, "Shut up."

"Guys, I'm not done rating yet!" Shauna said. "Number two is another obvious one," Shauna said certainly.

Now that Tobias had been rated number one, Zeke was expecting to be rated number two.

"Drake is totally the second hottest guy here," she said. Well I don't think she actually found Zeke very handsome.

Zeke threw his hands up in exasperation. "You're kidding, right?"

Shauna put a mock look of confusion on her face. "I thought it was obvious," she said sarcastically, "that Tobias and Drake were the two hottest guys in the room."

"But that would make me the least hot!" Zeke yelled. Drake smirked.

"You're the one who asked the question, Zeke," he pointed out. "Don't ask questions you don't want to hear the answer to." Zeke glared at him, then at Shauna. "So I'm guessing you don't find me hot?"

Shauna shrugged, trying to be nonchalant about the situation. But I could tell by her expression that she found Zeke's reaction amusing. "It's not that I don't think you're hot," she explained. "It's just that you're in a room full of hot guys who outrank you."

Zeke huffed, but didn't say anything. I rolled my eyes. "Who really cares who the hottest person in the room is?" I asked.

Christina gave me a pointed look. "And who really cares who the most badass person in the room is?"

"Touché, Chrissy."

"Stop it with the nicknames, Red."

"Only if you stop calling me 'Red.'"

"Well then you can continue with the nicknames," she said with a grin. I grinned back. It was good to have my best friend back, even if she didn't know who I really was.

Drake cleared his throat. "If everyone will stop their little side conversations, let's continue with the game. Shauna, your turn."

I now understand fully how this game works. You ask someone Candor or Dauntless. If they pick Candor, they have to tell the truth. If they pick Dauntless, they have to do something the other person says to do. But what happens if you don't want to do it?

"Christina," Shauna said. "Candor or Dauntless?" Christina tilted her chin up and smirked. "Dauntless," she said confidently. "I'm not a pansycake like some people in this room." She gave Shauna a pointed look.

Shauna glared at her. "Shut up, Chrissy." Christina glared right back at her. "Is everyone calling me 'Chrissy' now?" Shauna ignored her.

"I dare you to switch clothes with the person on your right." I glanced to the right of Christina and almost burst out laughing. Tobias was sitting there with a shocked expression on his face. "I'm not switching clothes with Christina!" he protested.

"He'd never fit in my dress!" Christina said. Shauna just smirked. "Then you'd have to take off the only article of clothing you have on right now; your dress." So if you don't want to do the candor or dauntless you have to take off an article of clothing. Got it.

"I knew I should've worn a jacket," Christina mumbled. She wordlessly grabbed Tobias's hand and dragged him to the bathroom that was attached to the bedroom.

Tobias's eyes widened. "You're seriously switching clothes with me?"

Christina smirked. "I figured that you'd be the least comfortable one in this situation. So why not?"

Tobias groaned, and I laughed. This would be interesting.

**A/N: This chapter was originally going to be longer, but I wanted to update for you guys! There will be more Candor or Dauntless in the next chapter, I promise. Thank you so much for reading, and please leave your opinions in the reviews! ~Erica**


	11. Chapter 10

**A/N: ZOMG GUYS THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR 100 REVIEWS! It's amazing to see how far this story has gotten in the past month, so thank to everyone who's followed, favorited, and reviewed! But anyways, here's the next chapter! I hope you enjoy reading!**

**Disclaimer: I always forget to do this so just remember- I only own the plot, Alex, and Drake. Everything else goes to the amazing badass author known as Veronica Roth. And I guess Zoë** **Nightshade goes to Rick Riordan…**

**Tobias POV**

I can't believe this. Christina made me put her _bra_ on too. As if this dress and freaking five inch heels weren't enough. I was never going to live this down. I glanced at the full body mirror and cringed at the sight of myself. The dress was _way too _tight, and wasn't very attractive on me. But at least Christina looked ridiculous too; my shirt was eight times bigger than her, and the pants were so baggy and big that it wouldn't even stay on her hips.

The corner of my lip twitched in an almost smile. Maybe I would enjoy this after all. We walked back into the room, preparing for an onslaught of insults.

Everyone immediately burst out laughing at the sight of us. I understood why. I felt like this dress was about to tear, not to mention that I could barely walk in these heels.

Zoë was rolling on the floor laughing, and she wiped a tear from her eye. "Looking good, Number Dude!" she shouted at me over the hysterical laughing. I blushed. Why did Christina have to make me do this?

"Why is no one laughing at Christina?!" I exclaimed, gesturing to her. She held her hands up in surrender.

Zoë answered me again. "Christina—" she paused to continue laughing. "—Doesn't look—" She took in a breath of air. "—Like a stripper!" she finished, still laughing.

I glared at all of them. "Can I take these clothes off now?" I asked Shauna.

Shauna shook her head with a sly grin on her face. "Nope," she said. "You're going to stay like that for the rest of the game."

I looked at her in horror. "This dress will probably rip by the end of the game!"

Shauna rolled her eyes. "Then we'll all have a view to enjoy." Everyone laughed harder when they heard her say that. I just blushed more.

"Lighten up, Number Dude," Zoë said. "You both look pretty damn funny. Now suck it up, deal with it, sit down, and play the game."

I glared at her again. She was so irritating sometimes. What am I talking about? She's irritating _all the time_. But I obliged. All I had to do was wait for someone else to be embarrassed.

Christina and I sat down in our spots.

Once the laughter died down, Christina asked, "Alex, Candor or Dauntless?"

"Well," Alex said, "I'm kind of scared about what you'll do to me, so Candor."

Drake yelled at her, "Pansycake!"

Alex glared at him and yelled back, "Asshole!"

Drake opened his mouth to respond, but Alex cut him off. "And if you dare say 'Sexy asshole,' I swear that I'll make sure you never have children," she said harshly. And this is why you never want to mess with Alex.

Drake's eyes widened. "Well someone's getting a little touchy-touchy."

"Just ask a question!" Zeke yelled at Christina.

She rolled her eyes. "Fine," Christina said. "Alex, if you woke up one day and found out you'd be a boy for 24 hours, what is the first thing you would do?"

Alex laughed. "Where did that question come from?" she asked with tears of laughter in her eyes.

Christina smiled a mischievous smile and said, "I have an interesting mind. Now answer the question."

Alex contemplated it for a while. "I guess I'd go pee. I want to experience what it would feel like to pee while standing up."

Everyone burst out laughing, including me, and it's very hard to make me laugh. She'd go pee? Alex blushed. "What's so funny? It's true!"

"Out of all the things you could have done, you would want to pee first?!" Christina said. Alex rolled her eyes. "Well, duh. I mean wouldn't it be cool to stand up while peeing? You know, without missing the toilet? None of us girls have experienced it!"

"Unless you changed genders," Drake pointed out. Alex elbowed him in the ribs.

"Okay, moving on," Alex said. "Drake, Candor or Dauntless?"

"Dauntless," Drake answered. "Because I'm not a pansycake like some people." He gave Alex a pointed look.

Alex glared at him but continued on. "I dare you to go on a date with Zoë tomorrow night," she said with a smirk. "It has to be a nice dinner, and you both have to wear nice, pretty clothes."

And just like that, jealousy started coursing through me. I don't know why. It was just a date, and I didn't have any feelings for Zoë. I mean, I just met her. And this was crazy. I don't like her. Right?

"Hell no!" Drake yelled. "I'm not going on a date with Zoë!"

"Yeah!" Zoë said, joining in on the protest. "I'm not going on a date with him, either."

I felt of rush of relief, but I was confused. Why would I be relieved about them not wanting to date? Why did I care in the first place?

Alex gave Drake and Zoë a loaded look, and they all shared a silent conversation with their eyes. They must know each other well to be able to do that, to have a conversation no one else could decipher. The only person I have ever been able to do that with was Tris.

Finally, after a while of them continually glancing back and forth between each other, Drake sighed in resignation. "Fine," he conceded. "I'll go on a date with Zoë. But only _one date_." He gave Alex a look.

"Yeah, yeah," she responded in a bored tone. "But you'll end up having more than one date, because you like her and would want to go on another one." She wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.

Drake rolled his eyes. "In your dreams, Asshat Alexandra," he said, calling her the nickname he uses whenever he wants to annoy her; which is pretty much all the time. It works pretty well, too. Alex absolutely hates her real name, and her being called an asshat tops it all off.

"Asscrown," Alex mumbled.

"Don't you mean 'assclown'?" Drake looked amused.

"No," she said, louder this time. "I mean asscrown. The crown on top of the asshat that covers the asshole of the assclown. The very zenith in the hierarchy of asses," she finished, as if reading from a dictionary of modern profanity.

Drake smirked. "Well I guess you nailed my personality perfectly."

"Hell yeah, I did!" Alex said.

"Actually," Zoë added. "You forgot to mention anything about his arrogant assiness."

"And his ambition to find true love in Zoë!" Lauren yelled out.

Drake retorted, "Unfortunately, my one true love remains myself."

Zoë laughed. "At least," she said, "you don't have to worry about rejection."

"Not necessarily. I turn myself down occasionally, just to keep it interesting."

Everyone laughed. "Don't be ridiculous," I say with an eye roll. "Why do you have to be so full of yourself?"

"For starters," Drake says, "I don't have a number for a name." He gave me a pointed look, and I glared at him. He really is an asscrown.

"I'm also not wearing a dress that looks like it's about to tear at the seams," Drake adds with an eyebrow raise. My cheeks start blushing without my permission.

Zeke laughs along with everyone else, and says, "Okay, enough with that. Ask someone 'Candor or Dauntless?'"

"Four," Drake says immediately. "Candor or Dauntless?"

I considered my options. Drake being Drake, his dare would be very brutal. But me being me, I had too much pride to pick Candor and turn down a challenge. So I answered, "Dauntless."

Drake smirked his signature smirk; a smirk that matched Zoë's exactly. If I didn't know any better, I'd say they were siblings. Their personalities were so similar.

"I dare you to let us see your fear landscape," Drake said. I gulped. Did I really want all of them seeing that? I only ever showed Tris, and it seemed like one of the only things that bonded us together now. Not to mention that I haven't been through it in three years. Who knows what my fears are now? Are there still four?

I saw Zoë's eyes widen as if she was scared for me. But why would she be? It's not like she knew what was in my fear landscape, so why would she be concerned for me? My thoughts were cut off when Drake spoke.

"What?" he asked. "Afraid you'll have more than four fears? Afraid that you can no longer be known for that?" he taunted. He was sort of right, but I would never actually admit that. My face hardened. I couldn't back down. That's not what Dauntless do.

"Fine," I huffed out. "But can I go through it without this dress? It's as uncomfortable as hell." Christina and I gave Shauna a pleading look.

"Stop that!" Shauna says, cringing away. "Go switch back; just stop it with the Bambi eyes! It's creeping me out." She shuddered. I felt a rush of triumph go through me. I wouldn't have to spend the night in this damn dress after all.

Christina and I switched clothes again and went back into Zeke's room. "Well," I said. "Let's get this over with then." We opened the door out of Zeke's room and weaved our way through the huge, drunk crowd of people.

But as soon as we reached the front door, Cara barged into the room wide-eyed. "Guys," she said, panting and out of breath. "You've got to come see this."

"Cara?" Zeke asked, confused. "Where've you been? What's wrong?"

Cara grabbed his wrist and responded, "Go now, questions later!" She started running, dragging Zeke along with her in the direction of the chasm.

We all exchanged a confused glance, but ran after them anyways. What could be going on? Lauren and Shauna were behind, because Lauren had taken the liberty of pushing Shauna's wheelchair. Everyone else was sprinting, trying to keep up with Cara. Whatever this was, it must've been important. Cara almost never breaks out of her calm demeanor.

We finally reached the chasm to an unexpected sight. Everyone, including Zeke, froze in shock. Standing there, soaking wet, stood a 16-year-old boy I never thought I'd see again. I mean, we scattered his ashes and everything. Tris saw him practically blow up. So what could he be doing here?

Leaning against the railing of the chasm was Uriah Pedrad.

**A/N: Sorry if it seems kind of short, but I wanted to end it there. ZOMG what's Uriah doing here?! Well, you'll find out in the next chapter. So guys, should the next chapter be in Tobias' or Tris' POV? Please leave your opinions in the reviews, and thank you so much for reading!**


	12. Chapter 11

**A/N: So sorry for not updating for a while when I left you guys at a cliffhanger! But I think this chapter makes up for it, considering that this is the longest chapter I've ever written for this story. So enjoy reading!**

**Tris POV**

"Hey, guys!" Uriah said with a smile and wave, as if he hadn't been dead for the last three years. I stared at the face of the friend I thought I'd lost forever, at the face I thought would never smile again. How could he possibly be alive? Alex and Drake had told me that he had never woken up from his coma. They said that his ashes were scattered in the chasm.

So he couldn't be alive, right? But then again, I wasn't supposed to be alive either. Could Alex and Drake have brought him back like they did with me? But when I glanced over at them, they looked just as shocked as I was.

Zeke was the first one to react. "Uri?" he questioned hesitantly. Uriah's smile widened. "It's good to see you again, bro."

Zeke stood there, shocked for a few more moments. Finally, he snapped out of his surprised state and ran to Uriah to envelope him in a tight embrace.

"I missed you so much," Zeke whispered into Uriah's shoulder. Zeke had tears of happiness streaming down his face, along with Lauren, Shauna, Christina, and Cara. Uriah patted his older brother on the back with a smile and said, "The feeling's mutual."

"Uri!" Lauren yelled, running to join them in their embrace. Christina and Cara also ran to join in on the now group hug. Shauna wheeled herself over there, awkwardly trying to join in a wheelchair.

Once the shock wore off, a feeling of intense happiness swept through me. My friend was back! The boy who ate a paintball after we played capture the flag. The Dauntless-born initiate who took me zip lining. The boy who asked if I wanted to sit on his lap during the fear landscape. The boy who introduced me to the word 'pansycake.' My cake-loving, goofy, Divergent friend, Uriah Pedrad, was back.

I took a step to join the group hug, but then I stopped. Tris Prior knew who Uriah was. Not Zoë Nightshade. My body ached to go and greet my friend, but I knew that I couldn't. I would completely blow my cover, and I couldn't do that; especially not on the first day of being here.

So instead I looked at Tobias. He was standing next to me with his arms crossed over his chest, looking at the scene with a small smile on his face. He was never big with emotions; he was always trying to mask them. But I could tell by his eyes that he was just as happy as everyone else that Uriah was back.

"You're not going to join the hugging fest?" I questioned. I already knew why. Tobias didn't like physical contact, being raised in Abnegation. He shrugged. "Hugging isn't really my thing. _You're_ not going to join in on the hugging fest?"

I forced out a laugh. "Why would I? I don't hug random strangers, unlike some people." I gave him a look. He punched my shoulder and said, "Shut up." But I could tell by the slight smile on his face that he wasn't really mad.

I opened my mouth to say something else, when I felt someone grab my forearm. I turned to see Drake standing there, his face white as a sheet.

"Whoa," I said. "You look like you've seen a ghost!"

"Come with me," he said quietly. Alex, who was standing behind him, made a 'come on' motion with her hands.

"Uh, okay," I said, still confused.

"Zoë, Alex, and I are going to bed so you guys can enjoy your little reunion," Drake said to Tobias.

Tobias gave a slight nod of his head.

We all went to Alex's apartment. Drake unlocked the door, ushering Alex and I in. Before he shut the door behind him, he glanced down the hallway, making sure no one else was there. When he finally came inside, he locked the door.

"Okay," I said. "Why the hell did you bring me here?"

"Tris," Drake said quietly, "something very bad is happening."

I nodded slowly, not quite understanding. "Yeah, the whole 'big threat on Chicago' thing is pretty bad."

Drake shook his head. "Not that! Tris, in our time, Uriah never comes back."

Alex nodded. "There also is never a killer that goes around Dauntless."

I still didn't comprehend why all of this was so bad, except maybe the killer.

"So?" I questioned.

"Don't you understand?" Drake said. "That means someone else is messing with the passage of time."

I furrowed my eyebrows. "Could it be someone from this time period?" Alex shook her head. "Time travel isn't invented until a year from now. It isn't possible that someone from this time period could be doing it."

"What's the big deal, guys?" I asked, more confused than ever. "I mean, they brought Uriah back. Isn't that good?"

"That part this is the only good part. And I'm not even sure if it's that good," Drake said. "But what about this killer? And while bringing Uriah back is good, it's also taking a huge risk. Messing with the passage of time too much is a very bad thing, Tris. And what happens if the next person they bring back isn't so good? What happens if they bring back Jeanine or restore David's memory?"

I swallowed hard. Drake had a point. Whoever was doing this could undo everything we've tried so hard to achieve. Whoever was doing this may not have the best intentions in mind. Whoever was doing this could _kill me _for the second time.

I tried to keep my face calm… and failed. But still, I raised my eyebrows, trying to remain neutral even though I now knew how serious the situation was.

"What do you suppose we do?" I asked them.

"There's not much we can do right now," Drake answered. "But we'll have to monitor for any unusual activity. If whoever's doing this is the bad guy, it wouldn't turn out well."

My heart beat so loudly in my chest that I thought that everyone in the room could hear it. My palms were sweating so much I thought I was creating rivers. My mind was so scattered and confused that I thought I might go insane. Who could possibly be messing with time like this?

"I'm going to go outside," I said, scolding myself for letting my voice tremble. "I just need to clear my head." And I knew the perfect place to go to.

**Tobias POV**

Drake, Alex, and Zoë left, so I watched the scene unfolding in front of me. Everyone was gathered around Uriah, patting his back as if making sure he was really there. I was hanging back, never one to show so much emotion.

Uriah spotted me, broke away from everyone else, and started walking in my direction. He grinned and patted my shoulder. "It's good to see you, Fou- Tobias," he corrected himself. He thinks I go by my real name now.

"I'm still Four to you, Uri," I said smiling back at him. Uriah smirked. "Still needed that mysteriously badass aura didn't you?" he asked sarcastically.

I shrugged. "It's more that people are used to calling me Four, but I guess the badassiness is a bonus." I grinned. Having people think you're badass can be cool, but it was unfortunate how they always expected so much from you.

"It's good to see you again, Uriah," I added, "But how?"

He cocked an eyebrow. "How what?"

"How are you here? How are you still alive?" I asked. Could it be a coincidence that someone who looked exactly like Tris comes on the same day Uriah came back?

"That body you burned? Yeah, that wasn't me. That was a replica of me," he explained, keeping his face neutral. I knew that body felt like plastic!

I was confused. "So where were you this entire time?"

"I actually have no idea," Uriah said, shrugging. He was trying to act nonchalant about the situation, but I could tell by his posture and eyes that he was terrified. He had no idea what happened to him. No idea why he was hidden. Who wouldn't be scared? "I just woke up in a room a few days ago. There was no door or windows or anything like that. Wonder which genius designed that," he said sarcastically.

"How'd you get out?" Zeke asked.

"There was a grate in the room that lead to the sewer," Uriah answered. "I managed to open it up, and I swam through the water, following the current. It brought me down there, to the bottom of the chasm." He pointed at the chasm.

Lauren's eyes widened. "How did you get up here without dying?!"

Uriah gestured to Cara. "Where do you think she comes into this?"

Everyone averted their attention to Cara. She shrunk back slightly at all of the eyes on her, but quickly regained her confidence. "I saw him hanging onto a rock at the bottom, trying not to be smashed into anything by the current. Then I got a long rope and threw it down to him. He grabbed it, and I managed to pull him up." Well Cara has more strength than I thought she did. Even I could barely lift Uriah. That kid is 150 pounds of pure muscle. And probably some fat from all the cake he eats.

"So now I'm here, talking to you guys!" Uriah finished his story.

"Do you know who captured you?" I asked.

"Nope," Uriah answered. He yawned, stretching his arms over his still wet head. "But can we worry about this tomorrow? I've been treading water all day, and I'm tired."

We all nodded quickly, eager to get information but not wanting to push him. "Come on," Zeke said, "you can stay in my apartment for the night." He jerked his head in the direction of his apartment.

Uriah nodded and followed his older brother. Knowing Zeke, Uriah wouldn't be going to sleep any time soon. Zeke would keep him up all night talking.

"Well I'm going to hit the hay too," Lauren said tiredly. She wheeled Shauna over to the apartment they lived in together.

Christina nodded. "Well I'm also tired. See you tomorrow, Four." She gave me a sloppy kiss on the cheek before she walked away. When she was out of sight, I wiped her saliva off my face. That girl needs to learn how to kiss without so much _spit_.

Cara was about to follow her, since their apartments are right next to each other, but she paused and looked at me. "Four?" she said. I nodded, acknowledging her.

"Just don't get your hopes up, okay?"

I cocked an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

Cara rubbed her arms and sighed. "I know you miss Tris. And I know you still wish she was here with us. But she's gone. I'm the one who found her dead body; I should know. Tris and Zoë aren't one and the same. They couldn't be."

I smiled uncomfortably at her. "Don't worry, Cara. I've moved on." I was lying, but she didn't need to know that.

She eyed me suspiciously, probably knowing that Tris isn't something I could 'move on' from, but she walked away anyways.

I needed some time to think after everything that's happened today. I followed a twisting path all the way to my special hidden spot in the chasm.

For a while, I just sat there listening to the sound of water hitting rock with life-threatening force. Then I looked around, examining my location further. Realization struck me, and I knew that this was the exact rock where Tris and I had had our first kiss three years ago.

I sighed and ran my fingers along the surface of the rock, imagining Tris sitting beside me. I imagined her beautiful blond hair and striking gray-blue eyes. I imagined the wonderful feeling of her lips against mine for the first time.

My eyes welled with tears, knowing that I'd never be able to see her again. Knowing that I'd never be able to kiss her again. I blinked them back, reminding myself that I was strong. If I closed my eyes, I could picture our conversation here with sharp clarity.

"_Why did you leave?" she asks me, her blue eyes bright with curiosity._

_I look away, not wanting to speak of the cowardice I displayed by leaving my faction just because of my father. I see her rub the wrist where Marcus hit her in the simulation, and she finally understands._

"_You had to get away from your dad," she says, her eyes comprehending the situation. "Is that why you didn't want to be Dauntless leader? Because if you were, you might have to see him again?"_

_I shrug, uncomfortable about the topic. "That, and I have always felt that I don't quite belong among the Dauntless. Not the way they are now, anyway."_

"_But you're incredible," she says, her voice and expression full of admiration. She doesn't understand that my definition of bravery is much different than the Dauntless's._

_Tris clears her throat, probably thinking her last comment to be foolish. "I mean by Dauntless standards. Four fears are unheard of. How could you not belong here?" _

_She thinks I'm a prodigy. She thinks that just because I have four fears, I belong here. She thinks that just because I can beat someone to a bloody pulp, I'm Dauntless. But being Dauntless is supposed to be about bravery, not cruelty. Being Dauntless is supposed to be about standing up for others, not intimidating them based on your skills or size. Tris doesn't realize just how corrupt this place is._

_So I try to explain to her what my definition of bravery is. "I have a theory that selflessness and bravery aren't all that different," I say. "All your life you've been training to forget yourself, so when you are in danger, it becomes your first instinct. I could belong in Abnegation just as easily." I had hinted at my divergence, but she doesn't catch it._

_Instead she looks at the churning waters of the chasm and thinks about what I've explained to her. She averts her eyes from me when she says, "Yeah, well I left Abnegation because I wasn't selfless enough, no matter how hard I tried to be." Is this what she thinks of herself? That she isn't selfless? After everything she's done, she doesn't believe she could be in Abnegation?_

_I tell her just how selfless she is. "That is not entirely true. That girl who let someone throw knives at her to spare a friend, who hit my dad with a belt to protect me, that selfless girl, that's not you?"_

_She's the most selfless and brave person I've ever met. She's the person I can only dream of being. She's been trained her whole life to forget herself, she doesn't even realize that she is doing it. _

_She finally looks at me with her beautiful gray-blue eyes. "You've been paying close attention, haven't you?" she asks me. Perceptive as always, noticing how I've always noticed her._

"_I like to observe people," I lie, still unsure whether I should tell her about my true feelings. It's a wonder that she hasn't figured it out yet._

"_Maybe you were cut out for Candor, Four, because, you're a terrible liar," she says, using the line I said to her earlier while we were going through my fear landscape._

_I place my hand on the rock beside hers, hoping she doesn't notice my long fingers that I've always thought were ugly._

"_Fine," I lean into her and look at her features closely. I take a deep breath and finally declare my feelings for her, saying, "I watched you because I like you." I flick my eyes up to hers, briefly, but instead I study her face, hoping I didn't freak her out by my revelation._

_I quickly say something else. "And don't call me 'Four', okay? It's nice to hear my name again."_

_Maybe I did freak her out, because she can't seem to look at my face anymore. She has no idea how to respond._

_So she just blushes and says, "But you're older than I am… _Tobias."

_Of course, Tris doesn't acknowledge the fact that I like her, she avoids the topic entirely. I don't know whether she doesn't believe this is happening, or if she just doesn't feel anything for me. My heart speeds up at the possibility of the latter._

_But still I push on, trying to get her to perhaps accept her feelings for me. Or for her to just tell me that she's not interested._

_I smile at her."Yes, that whopping two-year gap really is _insurmountable,_ isn't it?" I'm trying to explain to her that I don't care what the age difference is; I don't care about anything that comes in our way. I just want to be with her._

_Only she doesn't realize it. She doesn't realize that I truly want to be with her. "I'm not trying to be self-deprecating," she says, "I just don't get it. I'm younger. I'm not pretty. I-"_

_I cut her off with a laugh. She thinks she's not pretty. And she's right, she's not. That word is too small. She's not like the girls I used to stare at, all bend and curve and softness. She is small but strong, and her bright eyes demand attention. Looking at her is like waking up._

_And she thinks she's not good enough for me. If anything, I am the one not good enough for her. So I place a gentle kiss on her temple, showing her that I care for her no matter what._

"_Don't pretend," she says breathily. "You know I'm not. I'm not ugly, but I am certainly not pretty."_

_I know this is a fight I will not win. I won't be able to convince her that she's absolutely stunning; she's too stubborn. So I give in. "Fine. You're not pretty. So?" I take a chance and kiss her on the cheek. I can't believe I'm this close to her after weeks of dying to touch her. "I like how you look. You're deadly smart. You're brave. And even though you found out about Marcus… You're not giving me that look. Like I'm a kicked puppy or something." I loved how she didn't think I needed sympathy. How she believed I was strong even though I wasn't._

"_Well," she says, "you're not."_

_I look deep into her eyes. Eyes that I swear could look directly into my soul. Eyes that could take me apart, piece by piece, revealing every secret, every thought I've ever kept inside myself. Eyes that I am falling in love with. I lean in, hesitating, lightly brushing my lips against hers._

_I pull back. Confidence rushes through me, telling me that I should suck up my fear and kiss her. So I smile at her, lean in, and kiss her, more confidently this time._

_I feel her stiffen, and I pull back, sure that I scared her or that she doesn't want to be with me. But then I look into her eyes and see wanting in them. So I take her face in my hands and press my lips to hers. Harder. Longer. More passionately. _

_And then the most extraordinary thing happens. She kisses back. This is finally happening. She's in my arms, kissing me, both of us holding nothing back. I feel her fingers wind up in my short hair when I hear, _"Four? Four?! FOUR!"

My eyes snapped open, taking in the face of the imbecile who decided that they could interrupt my flashback. I stared right back at the face of none other than Zoë Nightshade.

My expression hardened. "What the hell are you doing here?!"

Zoë shrugged and sat down beside me. "I was just about to ask you the same question." I took her in. She had changed from her dress into a tight black tank top and black jeans. Her facial and body features were almost the exact same as Tris', but everything else about her was different.

She had fiery red hair that ended at her mid back. Her emerald green eyes stared back at me, holding the same curious and lively spark that Tris' used to have. My eyes traveled downward, until it reached her collarbone. There, exactly where Tris' raven tattoo used to be, was a scar.

I could feel my expression soften, and I reached out my hand to lightly touch the scar, not caring about the consequences. "How'd you get this scar?" I asked quietly.

I could've sworn that Zoë sighed in contentment, but I must have imagined it. "I got into a fight. One of the guys had a knife," she answered with a shrug, as if armed men attacked her every day. Damn, this girl got into a lot of fights. I pulled my hand back and placed it at my side.

We sat there in awkward silence for a moment. "Okay," she said, breaking the silence, "my turn to ask you a question."

I gestured for her to keep going. "Go ahead, Red."

She glared at me. "You know, I find it extremely annoying when you call me 'Red.'" I grinned widely. "And that's why I keep doing it. Now are you going to ask a question or not?"

"Fine," she answered angrily. Her face sobered and she asked, "Who's Tris? You seemed so convinced that I was her. And you were so disappointed when I wasn't."

I sighed sadly. I expected she would eventually ask this question. And I owed it to her to answer it honestly. I mean, I ran to her to hug her even though she had no idea who I was. I would've wanted an honest explanation as well.

"Tris," I said slowly, "was something different. She was something extraordinary." I looked away from her, averting my eyes. "She was so brave. She was so selfless. She was so smart. She was different; Divergent. Tris was someone I could only dream of being."

Zoë looked at me curiously. "You admire her." She said this as a statement, but I answered it like a question. "Yes, I did. I still do."

"She was a small girl," I continued, "but you'd be surprised at how much strength she held inside herself; both physically and mentally." I laughed softly, remembering how she hated being underestimated based on her size.

"Maybe that's why I fell in love with her. She was different from everyone else. She had such a strong will. She was perceptive, cunning. And she would do anything to help a friend. Anything at all. And that's what killed her in the end." I heard Zoë take a sharp intake of breath. I don't think she guessed that Tris was dead. Or that I was in love with her.

"Did she love you back?" Zoë asked curiously. I looked her directly in the eyes when I answered, "Yes, she loved me. We loved each other."

She nodded slowly. "What is she to everyone else? Everyone outside your friends and yourself?" she inquired. I held her gaze. "She was the girl who won the war. She was the girl who uncovered the truth. Tris Prior was someone who changed the world we lived in forever."

Zoë tilted her head to the side and furrowed her eyebrows. "Do you miss her?" she asked quietly, cautiously, as if she were scared to hear the answer. I looked away again. "Yes," I said, my voice cracking, the backs of my eyes stinging with tears. "I miss her so much."

For a moment I wonder why I'm opening my heart up to someone I just met, why I'm acting so vulnerable in front of her. But there's something about Zoë that makes me feel like I can trust her. There's something about her that makes me feel like I've known her my entire life. But still, did I really have to open myself up to her like this?

I decided that I didn't care. What I needed was a friend who would talk to me and listen and wouldn't tell me to move on. And Zoë has provided that for me.

"Today's the anniversary of her death," I whispered, so softly that I wasn't sure she heard me. Zoë remained silent, but based on the sorrow I saw in her eyes, I knew that she had heard. "Do you know what it's like?" I asked, my voice filled with sorrow and agony, blinking back an on flow of tears.

I'm scared that if I move even an inch, my body will snap in half and she will see that my insides are made of nothing but the tears I'm swallowing back right now. A stray tear trickled down my cheek. "Do you know what it's like to lose someone that you loved so much?"

She looked away from me and sighed. "Of course I do," she answered. "My parents died in the war," she said, her voice pained. "They were fighting for me, trying to protect me, and they died in the process." She sounded like she was forcing the words out, trying so hard not to cry.

"I still feel like it's my fault." She looked at her hands guiltily. "I feel like, if I had just been able to defend myself better, they would still be next to me here now. But I couldn't. And the guilt eats away at me every day." And I want so desperately to take away her pain. I wanted to wrap her up in a blanket and hide her from the rest of the world. I don't know why. Why should I be so protective of her?

Maybe it's because I felt sympathy for her, or maybe it's because she looked and sometimes acted so much like Tris. Either way, she needed comfort right now. So I took her hand in mine, feeling the rough calluses from years of fighting.

And we sat there, in the chasm, comforting each other with just our presences, until we had to go to bed.

But for just that moment, I swear we were infinite.

**A/N: I hope you guys enjoyed that tiny bit of fluff in this chapter! If any of you have noticed the new story cover, I'll tell you where it came from. So I hosted this edit contest on my instagram, my username is dauntless_divergent46, and an account made that beautiful edit and won the contest! If you have instagram, please follow my account. Also please leave your opinions, comments, or suggestions in the reviews, and I'll try to update as soon as possible. Thanks for reading! ~Erica**


	13. Chapter 12

**A/N: Sup, guys! This chapter is really a filler, so I'm really sorry! But on the bright side, I'm updating earlier than I usually do. Enjoy reading!**

**Tris POV**

I walked through the halls to breakfast, Alex and Drake flanking me on either side. I was dressed in a black shirt, black leather jacket, black jeans, and combat boots. Typical Dauntless clothes.

We got to the dining hall, and we started scanning the crowd for our friends.

We finally spotted them at a table in the far corner of the room, talking about God knows what. Alex sat down next to Lauren, Drake next to Tobias. I took the only available seat next to Uriah and across from Tobias. I tried to meet Tobias' eyes, tried to see if he acknowledges the moment we shared last night, but he remained neutral; blank. I felt something deflate inside me.

Uriah took a glance at me, his gaze lingering on my red hair and green eyes. "What's with the dyed hair and green contacts, Tris?" he asked, obviously confused.

I pretended to be exasperated. Is it really that easy to see through the desguise? "I'm not Tris! My hair," I grabbed a strand and waved it in front of his face, "is naturally red." A lie. "And my eyes," I pointed with two fingers at my eyes, "are naturally green!" Another lie.

Uriah looked at me with a shocked expression on his face, not expecting my sudden outburst. "Whoa, where's the fire, Red?" I gave him a cold hard glare. "And my name isn't Red! It's Zoë Nightshade, thank you very much." My annoyance at being called 'Red' wasn't an act at all. It was seriously very irritating.

Uriah glanced up at everyone else who was watching the scene with amused expressions on their faces. "Is she always like this?" he questioned, pointing at me and talking about me like I wasn't in the room.

"I've only known her for a day," Zeke said, "but I'm quite sure that she is."

"And I," Drake raised his hand, "have known her for 7 months. Yes, she is always like this."

Uriah shot him a questioning glance, noticing him for the first time. "And you are…?"

Drake smirked and said, "I am Drake Calix Leger, the sexiest asscrown here. And who are you?"

"I am Uriah Pedrad, the guy who can eat a full Dauntless cake in 10 seconds and the sexiest man alive," Uriah said with a mini bow. _Great_, I thought, _now we have two sarcastic and cocky assholes following us around. _

But I was still so happy that Uriah was back; even if he can be sarcastic and cocky a lot of the time. He used to be one of my closest friends. He helped me through Dauntless initiation. He was the one of the few bright spots I had during the war.

All of my friends were bright spots during the war, and I had clung on to them for dear life.

Because on the darkest days you have to search for a spot of brightness, on the coldest days you have to seek out a spot of warmth; on the bleakest days you have to keep your eyes onward and upward and on the saddest days you have to leave them open to let them cry. To then let them dry. To give them a chance to wash out the pain in order to see fresh and clear once again.

And that has made me so much stronger.

Uriah turned to me and studied my face. "If you're not Tris, then who are you?"

I glared. "Well, if you had been paying attention earlier, you would've known that my name is Zoë Nightshade."

Uriah smiled, unfazed by my harsh tone. Same old Uri, playful and fun as always.

"What?" he said. "No cocky introduction? Come on, Red, you ruined the whole thing we had going on here."

I rolled my eyes, but said, "I'm Zoë Nightshade, and I could totally beat the crap out of you if I wanted to." Not a lie.

"And you don't want to… right?" he asked timidly, but I could tell by the hint of amusement in his eyes that he was just joking.

I smirked, playing along. "I don't know…" I said, trailing off. I eyed his hand splayed out across the table and an idea popped into my mind. It may be violent, but that's what Dauntless are, right?

I took my knife, and in one swift motion, I drove the knife into the table between his index and middle fingers. Uriah's eyes widened and he quickly drew his hand back. "Holy shit!" he yelled. "Are you trying to make me lose my fingers?!"

Alex ignored him, instead yelling out, "That is mahogany!" Her eyes were wide.

I raised my eyebrows. "And I should care because…?"

"You ruined perfectly polished and beautiful mahogany!" she exclaimed, running her hand across the wood. Alex has always had this weird love for mahogany.

Tobias rolled his eyes, clearly unimpressed by my knife-stabbing. Obviously he went back to what he usually is around Zoë; cold, unfeeling, blank. I don't know why I thought that last night could mean that something had changed between us.

But last night was something different. I got to see what he really thought about me as Tris, what he really thought about my death. Who knew that he cared so much for me? Who knew that my death would affect him so much?

"Can you hit anything with that knife besides a table?" he asked, cocking an eyebrow.

I level my eyes with his. "Is that a challenge, Number Dude?" I say in a low, menacing voice. He doesn't think I'm skilled with a knife.

"It is now," Tobias said. "C'mon, Red. You're all bark and no bite. You have too much pride for your own good."

Pride; such a peculiar value. You don't know pride is taking over you until it's too late, until you realize that you have become something you weren't. But then you decide you don't care, because you have too much pride to say that you did something wrong.

Pride is a flaw in every Dauntless heart; it is in mine. And that is what pushed me to yank the knife out of the table and prepare for what I was about to do.

I held the knife steadily, looking for a target. _Inhale, aim, _a voice in my head says. My eyes focus on Tobias' jacket sleeve in front of me, his back against the wall. _Exhale, fire, _the voice commands. I flick my wrist and the knife goes sailing through the air, going exactly where I want it to go. Within a second, the knife catches on Tobias' jacket sleeve and pins his arm to the wall. I realize then that the voice in my head was Tobias'. He was the one who taught me how the throw knives, after all.

Everyone looked at me in astonishment, probably not expecting that I had such a good aim. Even Tobias looked shocked, too stunned to even remove the knife from the wall.

Uriah whistled. "Damn, this girl is badass." I guess I'm a better actress than I thought.

Tobias finally snapped out of his shocked state and pulled the knife out of the wall. He examined his arm, expecting it to be cut. But it was unfazed.

He looked at me wide-eyed. "How the hell did you do that without harming me?" What kind of a stupid question was that? I bet he could throw just as well as I could, if not better.

But of course I couldn't say that. So instead I shrugged and studied my fingernails. "I have a good aim," I said nonchalantly. "No big deal."

"No big deal?!" Zeke exclaimed. "Not even Four could aim that well!"

I rolled my eyes. "Please, he has a much better aim than I do."

Tobias eyed me suspiciously. "How would you know that? You've never seen me throw before."

I freeze in place, realizing my mistake. Tris Prior has seen him throw before; _not_ Zoë Nightshade. Drake and Alex shoot me warning looks.

"I… umm…" I stutter, not knowing how to cover up the mistake I made.

Luckily, Uriah swoops in and says, "I wouldn't worry about it, Four. She probably stalks you and watches you train. That way she can see you all sweaty and shirtless and be all like 'ZOMG Four is so hot!'" he said in a high pitched voice, fanning himself overdramatically with his hands. I am suddenly grateful for Uriah's comedy, because the subject is suddenly changed.

Everyone at the table laughed, except for me and Tobias. I punched Uriah in the shoulder, while Tobias glared at him. "For your information, the only person who's seen me shirtless is Tris." His eyes widened at the realization of what he just said, and I had to try so desperately to hide the blush on my cheeks.

"Whoa," Uriah said, "TMI, dude."

Alex was genuinely confused. "TMI? You mean The Mortal Instruments?"

Uriah stared blankly back at her. "What?"

"That's what TMI stands for, right? The Mortal Instruments?"

"What the hell is 'The Mortal Instruments'?" He furrowed his eyebrows.

Alex looked shocked. "Only one of the best book series of all time!"

"Okay," Uriah said, obviously confused. "Anyways," he continued on, "TMI stands for 'too much information.' For example, we didn't have to know that Tris has seen Four shirtless." He gave Tobias a look. Tobias glared back at him.

"Speaking of Tris," Uriah said, "where is she? I haven't seen her since I got here; I've only seen her look-alike." Uriah looked around expectantly.

Everyone went silent. Nobody wanted to break the news to him; he looked so excited to see me again. "Well? Where is she?" he repeated.

Tobias looked down. Christina, who was sitting on the other side of Tobias, sighed. "Uriah," she said hesitantly, "Tris… is gone."

Uriah furrowed his eyebrows. "When is she coming back?" he asked innocently.

Christina shook her head. "Uriah… She isn't coming back. She's… dead." She blinked back tears.

"What?" Uriah asked, his face pale. "How did she die? When? Where?" He was panicked, his eyes wide.

Everyone, except for me, Alex, and Drake, explained the situation to him. How Caleb was supposed to go to the Weapons Lab to release the memory serum. How I took his place. How David shot me. How Cara found my dead body.

The thing about all this, was that they didn't know the entire story. They didn't know that Alex and Drake were time travelers. They didn't know that Alex and Drake went back in time to save me. They didn't know that Zoë Nightshade, the badass, selfish, cocky redhead, was really Beatrice Prior.

Once they had finished with their account on my death, Uriah's wore a shocked expression on his face. His jaw hung open, his eyes wide.

Tobias had been oddly quiet during their explanation, staring down at the table with a tight expression on his face. I remember last night, when he opened up to me about how he felt about me being dead and how much he missed me. He was so open then, how he used to be when we were alone together.

"Yesterday was her three year death anniversary," Christina said quietly, solemnly.

"Hold on," Uriah said. "So an exact look-alike of Tris shows up on her three year death anniversary?"

Christina nodded. "Pretty much," she said.

"Yup," I answered, clarifying. "Quite a coincidence, huh?" I say, hoping he'll actually believe that it _was_ a coincidence.

"Yeah…" Uriah said, trailing off, his brow furrowed. Whether in concentration or confusion, I wouldn't know.

We were all silent; pondering, daydreaming, or thinking.

I, for one, thought about keeping this secret from my friends. I thought about how long I would have to keep this secret. I thought about who this secret threat on Chicago was. What their secret plan was. What other secrets are there to uncover? People, I have discovered, are layers and layers of secrets.

And I don't want to be that kind of person. I learned long ago that secrets aren't the best things to keep. They can result in outbursts of anger, distrust, betrayal, etc.

Suddenly I want to get away. I want to retreat to my apartment and just think, to just wander into the maze of my own mind. Because why would the human mind be so complex if we weren't meant to get lost in it?

So I clear my throat. Break the silence. Say, "I'm going to my room. I'm kind of tired" Uriah gives a quick glance at me and nods. "Yeah, I think I want to head to my own apartment, too. Just to process the information."

Zeke shot him a questioning glance. "You don't have your own apartment."

Uriah rolled his eyes. "I had asked Eric what apartment I got just after the rankings were announced. I was eager to get one, you know? I'm apartment 445." Just across the hall from my apartment; apartment 446.

"You're just across the hall from Zoë's," Alex said. "Why don't you guys walk back there together? We'll meet up again later."

Uriah and I nodded.

We started walking through the Pit together, heading away from the dining hall and to our apartments.

"So," Uriah said, "how'd you end up in Dauntless? I've never seen you here before."

I shrugged. "After the war I wanted to be Dauntless. So I transferred here."

"Where did you transfer from?"

"I was born in Candor, then I transferred to Erudite when I was 16. Then I came here."

"Ah," Uriah said with a smirk. "So you're a Nose _and_ a Smart-mouth. That explains so much."

I rolled my eyes. "And you're an Adrenaline Junkie. What's your point?"

"At least I'm not a body part."

"Not necessarily," I said, tapping my chin, "in my mind, you're referred to as a dick." A lie, but I find it amazing how easily I can come up with snarky come backs after acting like this for less than a day.

"Ouch." Uriah wore an amused expression on his face. "That hurt, Red."

We were almost to our apartments, we just have to walk down two more hallways.

"So your name is Zoë Nightshade, you used to be Candor, transferred to Erudite, then Dauntless after the war?" he asked.

"Yup," I answered, popping the 'p.' A lie. We reached our apartments, and we turned to our respective doors.

Just as I was about to open the door to my apartment Uriah said, "Oh, and Tris?"

I turn around. "What?"

Uriah smirked and leaned down to whisper in my ear. "You've always been a terrible liar."

* * *

**Unknown POV**

"Is everything in going according to plan?" I asked.

"Not entirely... it seems that someone else is messing with time."

"Hmm..." It seems I have another thing to toy with.

"Do you know who this person is?" I finally ask.

They shake their head. "No, but our source is working to find out. Should we eliminate them once they are found?"

I wave my hand dismissively, a small smile growing on my face. "Oh, no, let them do whatever they're doing. It'll make this war so much more exciting."

**A/N: Before anyone asks, yes, Uriah was supposed to say Tris' name. And no, I will not tell you who's point of view this was. Not for a while anyways. **

**I was thinking about writing this chapter in Uriah's POV. Would you guys like that, or no?**

**Please leave your opinions and or comments in the reviews, and thanks for reading! ~Erica**


	14. Uriah's POV

**A/N: People have asked for the last chapter in Uriah's POV, so here it is! Enjoy reading!**

**Disclaimer: I always forget to do this! Anyways, all of this belongs to Veronica Roth. Except for the plot, Alex, Drake, and I guess the resurrections of Tris and Uriah! And Zoë Nightshade probably goes to Rick Riordan. And there are also a lot of references from other authors like Cassandra Clare, Suzanne Collins, Michelle Hodkins, John Green, and Tahereh Mafi. **

**Uriah POV**

"I still don't understand, Uri," Zeke says. "How could you have possibly ended up in that room? And who would've done it?" he asks me. Everyone else at the breakfast table looks at me, expecting an answer I wasn't prepared to give.

How was I supposed to tell them that I didn't know? I don't know how I ended up in that room. I don't know who did it. Hell, I don't even know how I was still alive. So, no, I have no idea how to answer their questions.

But luckily, Tris, a boy, and a girl walk up to the table before I have to say anything. The girl, someone with dark hair and green eyes that I'm going to call Celery Eyes, sits next to Lauren; the boy, someone with chestnut hair and brown eyes who I'm going to call Chestnut Head, sits next to Tobias. Tris, lucky for her, gets to sit next to me.

I study her features, seeing how much she's changed in the three years I've been gone. She'd gotten taller, her breasts have filled out (not that I was looking down there,) she'd dyed her hair red, and she now wore green eye contacts. When did she do that?

"What's with the dyed hair and green contacts, Tris?" I ask her, confusion probably written all over my face.

Her features morph into annoyance, although I don't know why. I guess I'm about to find out. "I'm not Tris!" she yelled. What? "My hair," she waved a strand of the dyed hair in front of me, "is naturally red." She's lying. "And my eyes," she points at her eyes, "are naturally green!" She was still lying. I could see in her eyes that she is hesitating.

I am shocked at her sudden outburst. Tris was usually so composed. "Whoa, where's the fire, Red?" I ask her, calling her the nickname Zeke said she hates. I guess Zeke's statement was true, because Tris, or whoever this girl was, gave me a stone cold glare. "And my name isn't Red! It's Zoë Nightshade, thank you very much."

So that was her name; Zoë Nightshade. That was probably the fakest name I've heard in the history of fake names. Nobody has a last name as cool as something like Nightshade. Tris needs to work on her lying skills; she was never good at it.

But I played along. I glance up at everyone else who was watching the scene with amused expressions on their faces. Yup, this was a prank. "Is she always like this?" I ask, pointing at Tris.

"I've only known her for a day," Zeke said, "but I'm quite sure that she is." That's weird. Zeke doesn't look like he's lying; I would know. Whenever he lies, he always fiddles with his fingers. Okay, what's going on?

"And I," Chestnut Head raises his hand, "have known her for 7 months. Yes, she is always like this." Oh, so Chestnut Head is apparently in on this joke too.

I shoot him a questioning glance, wondering what his actual name is. "And you are…?" I say, trailing off at the end for him to fill in for me.

Chestnut Head smirked. He must be cocky. "I am Drake Calix Leger, the sexiest asscrown here. And who are you?" I was right. Chestnut Head—I mean Drake—was cocky as hell. Well two can play this game.

"I am Uriah Pedrad, the guy who can eat a full Dauntless cake in 10 seconds and the sexiest man alive," I say with a little bow. I see Tris shake her head, just slightly, as if to say, _Now I have two cocky assholes on my hands._

Then she sort of zoned out, a faraway look in her eyes. This was the Tris I knew; getting lost in her mind every 5 minutes. I studied her face, trying to see if this actually wasn't the real Tris. But I could see that their face structures were exactly the same; same eye shape, same nose, same cheeks, same mouth. Tris thought she could fool me.

I try to get her to admit that she's Tris, so I ask her, "If you're not Tris, then who are you?"

She glared at me. She's apparently gotten feisty over the last few years. The new fiery red hair matched her new temper. "Well, if you had been paying attention earlier, you would've known that my name is Zoë Nightshade." And here we go again with the stupid, overdramatic last name. At least she didn't choose something like Firedancer or Dragonrider or Elfstar.

But she's doing a good job at showing her annoyance. I smiled, knowing that Tris has finally grown a strong enough backbone to glare and come up with snarky come backs. She even has a touch of sarcasm. Well I have much more than her, so I say, "What? No cocky introduction? Come on, Red, you ruined this whole thing we had going on here." See? Sarcasm.

She rolls her eyes, but obliges, saying, "I'm Zoë Nightshade, and I could beat the crap out of you if I wanted to." Well Tris got cocky.

She thinks she can beat the crap out of me now. How cute. But I play along. "And you don't want to… right?" I ask, trying to sound timid, but I was unable to contain the spark of amusement in my eyes.

Tris smirks, getting the joke. "I don't know…" she says, trailing off. I see her eye my hand splayed across the table, and something sparks in her eyes. Why did I have a bad feeling about this?

Then, faster than my eyes can process, Tris swoops up her knife and drives it into the table. Right between my index and middle fingers. I must be a goddamn oracle; I knew that something like this was going to happen. It takes me a moment to react, and I feel my eyes widen. I quickly draw back my hand. "Holy shit!" I yell. "Are you trying to make me lose my fingers?!"

Tris got fucking _violent_ over in the span of three years.

Celery Eyes yelled out, "That is mahogany!" Her eyes were wide. Seriously? She cares about the table just because it's mahogany? What about the dude who almost got his _fingers chopped off?_

Tris or Zoë or whoever she is raises her eyebrows. "And I should care because…?"

"You ruined perfectly polished mahogany!" Celery Eyes exclaims, running her hand across the wood. Okay, my friends are hanging out with damn weird people.

Four rolls his eyes, unimpressed by Tris or Zoë or—you know what? I'm just going to call her Red. So Four rolls his eyes, unimpressed by Red's little knife-stabbing stunt. "Can you hit anything with that knife besides a table?" he asks, cocking an eyebrow.

That got me thinking. Four always had faith in Tris; he always believed she could do anything. If Red really was Tris and this was all a prank, Four would still be supportive of her, right? I mean, the Four I knew knows that Tris is excellent at throwing knives.

Red looks Four straight in the eye and says, "Is that a challenge, Number Dude?" in a scary low voice. Number Dude? Good one.

"It is now," Four says. "C'mon, Red. You're all bark and no bite. You have too much pride for your own good." Is Four… taunting Tris? But he would never do that. If Tris was doing something wrong or badly, then he always helped her improve. Maybe Red wasn't actually Tris…

But Red accepts Four's challenge. She yanks the knife out of the table. Then, Red flicks her wrist and the knife goes sailing through the air. It catches of Four's jacket sleeve, pinning his arm to the wall. Holy shit, this girl's got game.

Everyone turns to her in astonishment. Even Tobias looks shocked, too stunned to remove the knife from the wall. I don't know why they are so surprised; Tris has always had an excellent aim. Unless this girl wasn't Tris. Ugh, I'm confused!

But even if she wasn't Tris, Red was badass. So I whistle, saying, "Damn, this girl is badass." I see pride spark in Red's eyes.

Four finally regains his sense and pulls the knife out of the wall. He doesn't even look mad; his jacket was torn up and he just had a freaking knife thrown at him, but the only expression he wore on his face was shock.

His shock increases when he examines his arm to see that it was unfazed. The knife didn't even graze the skin. Tris/Zoë/Red has a better aim than I thought.

Four looks at Red wide-eyed. "How the hell did you do that without harming me?!" he yells, breaking out of his usually calm expression.

That's a good question. Who the hell can aim that well?

But Red brushes it off as if it's nothing. She shrugs and examines her fingernails like a total badass. "I have a good aim," she says in a bored tone, as if this conversation wasn't worth her time. I was starting to think less and less that this girl was Tris. "No big deal."

"No big deal?!" my brother yells out. "Not even Four could aim that well!" Not necessarily, Zeke. I don't think he knows about the knife-throwing thing that happened between Four and Tris during initiation. I wasn't there to actually watch it, but the story had spread through Dauntless like wildfire.

Red rolls her eyes. "Please, he has a much better aim than I do."

Four eyes her suspiciously. "How would you know that? You've never seen me throw before."

Red freezes in place, as is she's just made a huge mistake. I see Celery Eyes and Chestnut Head shoot her warning glances. Maybe them three are the only ones in on the prank, trying to trick everyone else?

"I… umm..." Red stutters, trying to mask her mistake.

Well whether this girl was Tris or not, she obviously needs my help. Step aside, Red, let Uri show you how to change a subject. So I say, "I wouldn't worry about it, Four. She probably stalks you and watches you train. That way she can see you all sweaty and shirtless and be all like 'OMG Four is so hot!'" I say in a high pitched voice, fanning myself overdramatically with my hands. Red totally owes me for this later.

Because I succeeded in changing the subject. Everyone at the table laughed except for Red and Four. Red punched me in the shoulder, while Four gave me one of his famous glares. Still the same Four, glaring every five minutes and never revealing any emotion.

"For your information—" he realizes he can just say FYI, right? "—the only person who's seen me shirtless is Tris." Okay, that's a bit of a personal thing to say. Four's eyes widen when he actually thinks about what he said, and I swear I see Red blush.

"Whoa," I say, "TMI, dude."

Celery Eyes asks, "TMI? You mean The Mortal Instruments?" She looked genuinely confused. Someone wasn't very bright.

But her statement has also confused me. I stared blankly back at her. "What?"

"That's what TMI stands for, right? The Mortal Instruments?" Could this girl get any dumber?

"What the hell is 'The Mortal Instruments'?" I furrow my eyebrows.

Celery Eyes looks at me with a shocked expression. "Only one of the best book series of all time!" Please, The Hunger Games is the best book series of all time. Katniss Everdeen was hot…

And I have never heard of The Mortal Instruments. She has no idea the extent of my confusion.

"Okay," I say, my confusion showing clearly on my face. "Anyways, TMI stands for 'too much information.' For example, we didn't have to know that Tris has seen Four shirtless." I give Four a look. Four glares back at me and I smirk.

The fact that Tris still wasn't here occurs to me, so I ask, "Speaking of Tris, where is she? I haven't seen her at all since I got here; I've only seen her look-alike." Or I already saw her and she's pulling a weird trick on me; whichever way you want to put it.

And it would be exciting to see Tris again; we haven't seen each other in three years.

I look around at all of my friends, expecting them to tell me where she was. But all of them went strangely quiet, and their faces turn solemn. What are they hiding from me? "Well? Where is she?" I repeat, more demanding this time.

Four looks down, his anger at me momentarily forgotten. It was Christina, who was sitting a little too close to Four, who answers my question. Very vaguely, I might add. "Tris… is gone." What'd I tell you? Vague.

Did Tris go on a trip or something? Or was Tris really the red-head sitting next to me? "When is she coming back?" I ask.

Christina shakes her head. "Uriah… She isn't coming back. She's... dead." She blinks back tears that are threatening to spill out. What? What does she mean? Tris couldn't be dead… she was Tris.

But when I look around at the faces of everyone else, their faces are sorrowful and agonized. Even Four, who is usually so composed, has so much pain on his face that I'm shocked. The color drained from my face. This wasn't a prank… it couldn't be.

"What?" I ask, still in denial. "How did she die? When? Where?" How could this happen? Something had happened to one of my best friends… and I wasn't there to help. I felt guilt pierce my heart. I still expected Tris to pop out of nowhere, telling everyone that she was alive; but it doesn't happen. This couldn't be happening. I refused to believe it.

Everyone explains the situation to me. How Caleb was supposed to go into the Weapons Lab to release the memory serum. How Tris took his place. How David shot her. How Cara found her dead body.

It was just like that coward Caleb to back out; and it was just like brave, selfless Tris to go in his place. And now she was dead because of David the Dick.

But she couldn't be dead, right? This was Tris; she wouldn't let anything as petty as death stop her.

Right?

"Yesterday was her three year death anniversary," Christina finished in a quiet voice.

But that got me suspicious.

"Hold on," I say. "So an exact look-alike of Tris shows up on her three year death anniversary?" That wasn't a coincidence.

Christina nods. "Pretty much," she says. She fully believes what she's saying, but this girl, Zoë, had to be Tris. She had to.

"Yup," Red says. "Quite a coincidence, huh?" But after everything that's happened, I didn't believe in coincidences. How could I?

"Yeah…" I trail off, not believing her but not wanting her to know that.

Everyone goes silent, thinking about God knows what.

Well obviously my friends weren't pulling a prank on me. They wouldn't lie about Tris' death. And even if they would, Four sure as hell wouldn't. He loved Tris way too much to do that.

My friends sure aren't pulling a prank on me; that part is obvious. But Red and her friends were definitely hiding something; and I'm going to find out what it is.

Red wasn't who she said she was. That much I was sure of.

Celery Eyes and Chestnut Head were helping her with this charade, but I don't know why.

Suddenly I hear Red clear her throat. She says, "I'm going to my room. I'm kind of tired." I give her a glance and make a split-second decision. This would be the perfect opportunity to talk to her alone.

"Yeah, I think I want to head to my own apartment, too," I say. "Just to process the information."

Zeke shoots me a confused look. "You don't have you own apartment." Did I forget to tell him? Whoops.

I roll my eyes. "I had asked Eric what apartment I got just after the rankings were announced. I was eager to get one, you know? I'm apartment 445." The only problem is getting into the apartment. I kind of have no idea where the key went…

"You're just across the hall from Zoë's," Celery Eyes says. "Why don't you guys walk back there together? We'll meet up again later." I'm across the hall from Red? Perfect; an even better opportunity to speak with her.

Red and I nod.

We start walking through my old home; the Pit. I can't believe I'm back here. I can't believe three years have already gone by. You know, even though I was in a coma for the entire time.

I decide to start a conversation. If I'm ever going to find out if Red is really Tris or if she's hiding anything, I'm going to have to start by asking simple questions.

"So," I say, "how'd you end up in Dauntless? I've never seen you here before." It's true; I knew virtually everyone here in Dauntless. We were all big one big happy family. A family that is now gone thanks to the war.

Red shrugs. "After the war I wanted to be Dauntless. So I transferred here."

"Where did you transfer from?" I hope I don't sound too nosy.

"I was born in Candor, then I transferred to Erudite when I was 16. Then I came here." She's lying; she's biting the inside of her cheek and her posture is stiff.

But I don't acknowledge it, instead cracking a joke. "Ah," I say with a smirk. "So you're a Nose _and_ a Smart-mouth. That explains so much." But she wasn't really a Nose or a Smart-mouth; the girl I'm talking to is a Stiff and an Adrenaline Junkie.

She rolls her eyes. "And you're an Adrenaline Junkie. What's your point?"

"At least I'm not a body part," I shoot back at her.

"Not necessarily," she says, tapping her chin, "in my mind, you're referred to as a dick." Good one, Red. But you're lying again; I can see that you don't like insulting me at all. Because we used to be close friends.

"Ouch," I say, amused that Red has some snarky comebacks up her sleeve. "That hurt, Red."

We were almost to our apartments, we just have to walk down two more hallways. I needed to get her to reveal her true identity quick; I may not have another chance to talk to her for a while.

I say, "So your name is Zoë Nightshade, you used to be Candor, transferred to Erudite, then Dauntless after the war?"

"Yup," she answers, popping the 'p.' But I can see in her eyes the hesitation.

We reached our apartments, and she turned to her door.

Time to get her to slip. Just when she puts her hand on the knob, I say, "Oh, and Tris?"

And she does exactly what I expected her to do. She turns around, responding to her real name. "What?"

I smirk, feeling accomplished now that I got her to accidentally tell me who she was. I lean down to whisper in her ear, "You've always been a terrible liar."

**A/N: I was going to add a bit of Tris' POV in here so that you guys could see how she reacts in this chapter, but then I thought, "Hmm, you haven't updated in almost a week and everyone is asking you to update." So I just figured I'd update now. But it's good that I updated, huh? Please leave your opinions in the reviews, and thanks for reading! ~Erica**


	15. Chapter 13

**A/N: ZOMG guys I am so sorry for not updating! I had this HUGE project for science that I waited until last minute to do (which was bad planning on my part). And then I had to fucking REDO the project after a week of working on it! I'm not really good at keeping track of time or making smart decisions… sometimes I wonder why I'm a straight A student. Well, enough with my personal life, you people don't care about that, on to the story! So anyways, I was going to write this in Tris' POV until Middy's. said, "I was hoping it would be Uriah's POV on what happens next! Hope that is next!" Then I thought that that would be a good idea! So here's the chapter in Uri's POV, hope you enjoy reading!**

**Uriah POV**

Red/Tris looks back at me with eyes as big as the moon. I see terror and panic in her eyes. I guess her slipping up was a really bad thing for her. I wonder if I should feel bad… but I'm Uriah Pedrad, so I won't.

She tries to compose herself. "Are you talking to me?" she asks. Oh, Tris, you need to work on your lying skills. I can hear her voice shaking, and the panic in her eyes is obvious.

I narrow my eyes at her. "If you're going to lie to me, you might as well make it at least somewhat convincing," I say. Maybe I can teach her how to lie, she definitely needs the help.

I see her forcibly composed expression turn into a defeated one, and she sighs. She knows that she's been busted. _Well, Trissy, that's what happens when you don't know how to lie, _I think to myself in a singsong voice.

But what I really want to know is why she would do this. Our friends obviously have no idea that she's alive. They think she's dead. So why would she hide her identity?

"What's going on, Tris?" I ask her. My voice seems to echo through the silent hallway, reverberating through the walls and rooms.

Tris looks panicked, not wanting anyone to hear anything. She wants to keep her identity a secret, and that's not happening if someone overhears our conversation.

"I'll explain everything," she says quietly, "just not here." She wants to talk alone. How convenient.

But I oblige. "Can we talk in your apartment?" I ask quietly.

She nods; grabbing her keys from her back pocket and opens her apartment door.

We slip in, locking the door behind us. Tris sits down on the sofa, probably expecting me to sit down too. I don't.

She looks at me expectantly and raises her eyebrows. "Well? Are you going to sit?"

I shake my head. "I'm not sitting until you give me an explanation. What the hell is going on Tris?" I ask. Why is she hiding her identity? Why does everyone think she's dead? How can you fake your death like that? Could this have something to do with my supposed death too? Who would've done all this? When did I start asking myself so many questions? Hell, when did I start _talking to myself?_ I guess being in a coma for three years does that to you.

Tris thinks about it for a second, debating whether or not she should actually tell me.

Finally, she says, "Don't call me Tris; you now know me as Zoë Nightshade." That didn't help. I already knew that. Does she think I'm stupid? I think she thinks I'm stupid.

"Yeah," I say in an annoyed tone. "I _definitely_ didn't figure that out from the whole 'I'm Zoë Nightshade and I can beat the shit out of you' thing at breakfast."

She shoots me a glare. "Well _excuse me_ for wanting to clarify that."

"You're excused," I say, deadpanning.

She only sighs. "Do you want me to explain all of this or not?"

"Oh of course I do. Are you going to?" I ask dumbly. What? It's fun messing with her.

"I _would_ if you would just stop interrupting me," she snaps. Well, it's fun until she gets all mad and scary. I swear, her glares could cause grown men pee their pants. Now imagine what _Four's_ glares would do…

I put my hands up in surrender. "Sorry, sorry. Just explain."

She takes a deep breath, as if this was all hard for her to say. I guess it was. I couldn't imagine what it would be like to hide my identity from my friends when they all think I'm dead.

"The day I died," she begins slowly, "wasn't really a death."

"I kind of already knew that considering you're, you know, _standing right in front of me_," I say. Can't she just be straightforward? I don't need all of this obvious shit she's giving me. She's obviously avoiding the question.

"Would you just shut up?!" she says in an irritated way.

"Okay," I stated in defeat. "Just stop being so fucking vague," I say in a more riled voice.

She blows a stray strand of her dyed red hair out of her face. "Look, I'm not really sure I should tell you about this. You're not even supposed to _know_ that I'm me," she says in a calmer tone.

"So? I already know that you're you, so what difference does it make?" I ask curiously.

She just shakes her head and mumbles, "You wouldn't understand."

"I'm already pretty damn confused right now, so I don't think it really makes a difference." She looks at me with her wide gray-blue eyes that have seemed to age; they hold suffering and sadness and wisdom and knowledge from the war she fought so hard to win. Her eyes shouldn't hold that much suffering, not when she is only 16. Well, I guess she's 19. That's the funny thing about time: others seem to age faster when they've suffered and experienced so much more, even when they are supposed to be so young. Time doesn't determine how old you are, your experiences do.

"How about this?" Tris says. "I'll tell you everything…" I get excited. She'll really explain everything? "If Alex and Drake approve." Damn it. I knew there was a catch to it. Wait… who's Alex?

"Who's Alex?" I ask, voicing my thoughts.

Tris looks at me weird. I just got here; I'm not going to know everyone!

"You sat with her at breakfast this morning…" Tris says slowly, probably thinking that I'm a lunatic for not knowing who she is. I don't remember seeing an Alex at the table.

"And she is…?" I trail off.

Tris thinks about how to describe her. "She's that girl with dark hair." Doesn't ring a bell. I shake my head. Tris thinks for a moment, and then says, "She's that girl with the green eyes and has an absurd love for mahogany." The weird girl who freaking stroked the table?

"Celery Eyes?" I question, raising an eyebrow. "That girl who practically petted the table and doesn't know what TMI stands for? Why the hell would you need permission from someone like _her?_"

She glares at me. "Celery Eyes? Seriously?" she asks, annoyed. "Well _Celery Eyes_ just so happens to be my friend… and she's sort of my boss." She's working for Celery Eyes?

"Celery Eyes is actually in charge of something?" I ask in mock surprise.

Tris rolls her eyes. "Her name is _Alex_, Uri. And she's the reason I'm here; she planned half of it." I could hear her irritation growing.

"I wouldn't be surprised if this plan crashed and burned," I mutter to myself.

Tris snaps at that. "This plan _is_ crashing and burning!" she bursts. "You weren't supposed to find out; you could tip this entire thing off!" I guess I need to work on my muttering. Maybe Tris can help me with that while I help her with her lying.

But why is she stressing so much over this? Well, maybe I would know if she had _explained this to me. _Of course I don't say these thoughts out loud; wouldn't want to piss her off even more.

Instead, I say, "You know what? Just go ask Celery Eyes and that other dude—Drake. It'll make all of this so much easier."

Tris nods, and is about to respond when her phone goes off. She got a text. Tris pulls her phone out of her pocket and looks at the screen. "Oh crap," she mumbles, putting her face in her hands.

What the hell? Is she alright? "Tris? Is something wrong?" I ask, concerned. I look at the screen and see that it says, _Don't think I forgot about you and Drake tonight. Come over in 5—Alex._

"I have a date with Drake tonight," she says into her hands.

My eyes widen. "What?! Why the hell would you have a date with a cocky ass like him?!" I thought she loved Four. I thought she _wouldn't_ go for someone like Chestnut Head.

She lifts her face from her hands and glares at me. "Drake's not that bad, you know," she says sharply. "And it's not like I _wanted_ to go on a date with him. It was a dare I had to do from Candor or Dauntless," Tris explains. Drake's not that bad? He seems like a huge ass. Then again, I've only known him for a few hours. But I have always been really good at reading people. Maybe that's why I had an aptitude for Candor on the test.

She stands up from the couch. "I'm going to go, Uri. I'll ask Alex and Drake later." She heads to the door just as I realize something.

"Wait, Tris!" I yell out.

She turns back around with an alarmed expression on her face. "What? What is it?!"

I can't believe it. "I missed Candor or Dauntless!" I yell, distressed.

**A/N: Of course Uriah is **_**so**_** concerned about Candor or Dauntless. No cliffhanger this time! Hooray! Anyways, I feel like I should explain why Uri figured Tris out so quickly. So you know how in Allegiant Tobias is all upset that Tris is dead and he won't really accept that she's really gone? Yeah, well that's the first stage of grief; denial. When Uriah first found out, he should have been going through that stage. For the rest of their friends, it has already been three years and they have accepted that Tris is dead. Uriah, on the other hand, still doesn't believe it. Plus he has an aptitude for Candor. I mean, think about it. Let's say your grandma died. If a day after you found out she died and you saw someone who looked almost exactly like her, you would believe it was her, right? But if it had been three years after she died and you saw someone that looked exactly like her, you wouldn't believe it. So that's my reasoning. Sorry this chapter was kind of short, but it's been two weeks since I've updated, so… Okay, well that's the chapter. Please leave your opinions in the reviews, and thanks for reading! ~Erica**


	16. Chapter 14

**A/N: Okay, guys, sorry for not updating again! It's just that I have finals to study for, which I'm going to be taking this week, I have to pack for vacation, and I have a shitload of homework to do. But summer is really close, so I'll be able to start updating more often! Yay! ZOMG guys someone from my school found my story… Everyone say hi to Alan in the reviews! Here's the chapter:**

**Tris POV**

Sometimes, I swear, Uriah is the most childish person in the world. He's currently following me around, complaining about how he missed Candor or Dauntless. _Just keep walking, Tris,_ I tell myself. _You're almost to Alex's place._ "Can we please play again?" Uriah asks, dragging out the word 'please.' He's probably said this phrase at least 50 times since we left his apartment.

After what seems like an eternity of Uriah's whining, Alex's apartment door is in sight. _Thank goodness. I was about to gag him just to get him to shut up._ I picked up my pace subtly. Finally, we reached her door. I say in a rushed voice as to not be interrupted, "Okay, Uri, thanks, bye." Halfway through the word 'bye,' I am inside Alex's apartment and shutting the door quickly behind me.

I lean my back against the door and breathe out a sigh of relief. I've missed Uriah, don't get me wrong, but he can be annoying at times. I push myself off the door and take two steps forward, when Alex yells, "Tris!" as she jumps on my back. My knees bend slightly and I feel like I'm about to fall, but I manage to hold her weight.

"What the heck?!" I yelp in surprise, leaning against the wall for support.

Alex hops off me when she sees I'm struggling under her weight. She grins widely at me, knowing that I'm mad but not mad enough to hurt her.

"I thought you'd need a wakeup call," she says with a shrug. "I mean, the Tris I know would never in a million years even think about throwing a knife at Tobias." Alex gives me a look.

"Who are you and what have you done with the real Tris?" she yells at me, but I could see the corner of her mouth twitching up in an almost smile. She's messing with me; Alex knows that Beatrice Prior wouldn't do what I did earlier. That's why she's not mad at me. She's proud that I'm keeping up the act so well.

She'll be furious when I tell her that Uriah found out.

So I try to keep the conversation on the subject at hand. "I'm not Tris," I say. "I'm Zoë Nightshade, and Zoë Nightshade throws knives at people!" I puff my chest out and straighten my back; acting like some of those Dauntless fools that try to look tough all the time.

"Let's not forget the judo-flipping," Alex adds, playing along.

I smirk. "And I beat the crap out of people I just met."

"All in less than 24 hours!" Alex yells with a smile on her face, throwing her hands up in the air as if this was a huge accomplishment.

We stare at each other for a while, and then burst out laughing. The happier she is when I tell her about Uriah, the better.

We both calm down enough for Alex to say, "Okay, Tris, what do you plan on wearing to this little date of yours with Drake?" She looks at me with eyes that say, _If you don't pick something good, I'm picking for you._

Did I really need to do this? "Remind me again why I have to go on a date with him."

"Because I dared you to," Alex says smugly. "And it's logic. I mean, you have to date _someone_. What kind of a seventeen-year-old girl doesn't have a boyfriend? Especially a _Dauntless_ seventeen-year-old girl."

I stare at her blankly before I say, "You."

Alex's face heats up in embarrassment. "I could get a boyfriend if I wanted to," she mumbles.

I raise my eyebrows. "Well why don't you want one?"

"I never said I didn't want one."

"It was implied."

Alex blows out a sigh. "I've learned that falling in love isn't something I should do."

What? "Why?" I ask. "What's so bad about falling in love?"

She shakes her head. "My parents," she starts, "they weren't exactly the 'happy couple' that you always hear about. My dad…" Alex hesitated, unsure if she should share this information with me. After a minute, she decides that I am apparently trustworthy. "He cheated on my mom," Alex rushes out.

She looks at me to gauge my reaction. I don't know what she was looking for; pity maybe? But no, Alex is just… _Alex._ She's strong and tough and everything in between. She doesn't need pity, not in a million years.

The only emotion on my face is surprise. Her dad cheated on her mom? I've always believed that marriage should be a respected thing; maybe one of the biggest promises and commitments you'll ever make. For her dad to cheat on her mom… that shows just what type of person he is.

I don't say any of that. It will only make her feel worse. So I just say, "Did they divorce?"

Alex shakes her head. "My dad was going to," she says in a slow, sad voice, "but then he found out that my mom was pregnant with me. So they stayed together and he broke it off with the other woman. My mom didn't tell me who she was. She just told me that you couldn't really trust men."

I stare back at her wide-eyed. "That's—awful. Not only the fact that your dad cheated on her, but she also told you that you couldn't trust men. She basically told you to never take a chance with someone who will make you happy. And you believed her?"

Alex shrugs. "I did. I still do. Growing up, I saw everyone give their hearts away. I've seen bad break-ups and boys cheating on girls and lies and distrust and so many of the bad things that come with love. I remember thinking, _Don't you know better?_" She looks me straight in the eyes, showing that she believes exactly what she's about to say. "Hearts are breakable. And I think even when you heal, you're never what you were before."

But love is… extraordinary. Love is when you know that you would give anything up in the world just to make that person happy. Love is bringing out the best in a person. Love is when you're so happy that you feel like you could burst. Love is caring for someone even when they seem like the stupidest person in the world.

Love is what brought me to where I stand today.

I understand now; Alex doesn't want me to date Drake so that I can look normal in front of everyone. Maybe that's part of the reason, but she wants me to date Drake so that she can have her little play at romance without having to risk her heart getting broken. She wants to see a romance with a happy ending… even if it's fake.

I don't _have_ to help her. I don't _have_ to do something that I don't want to do.

But she's Alex, and I'd sacrifice my own life for her. She's Alex, and she almost never opens herself up like this.

So I say, "Are you going to help me get ready or not?"

* * *

I stood in front of the mirror, staring back at my reflection.

Why do I have to look so beautiful when I'm going on a date with_ Drake_ of all people?

My hair was in a carefully made waterfall braid, the tips of my hair curled slightly.

I had comfortable silver sandals on.

I was wearing a casual looking black dress. The sleeves ended just below my elbow, and the hem ended right before my knees. There was a silver belt tied around my middle, dividing the dress in half.

Alex had said Drake and I were having a picnic in Millennium Park, which explains why I didn't get the extravagant evening gown I dreaded wearing.

"I did pretty good, if I do say so myself," Alex says, twirling the comb in her hand. "One last touch, though…" She reached into her vanity dresser and pulled out something gold and shiny.

It was a necklace with a pendant in the shape of an angel whose wings were clockwork cogs and gears.

"Dear old mom gave it to me," Alex says. "Always called it her 'clockwork angel.'" She walked back over to me.

"Mom said that it had always protected her, and she passed it onto me." Alex carefully secured the necklace around my neck, treating the object with gentle care. "Now it should protect you too."

I stared in awe at the necklace, looking at the intricate patterns and machinery. It looked old, slightly rusted around the edges of the wings, but it was beautiful.

I carefully touched the angel as it rested gently between my collarbones. I could feel the gears working inside, the steady 'clicks' and 'ticks', as if it were _alive._

"Thank you," I say in a soft voice, almost afraid to break the peaceful silence that had settled over us.

Alex punched me in the shoulder lightly. "Don't get all sentimental on me, Tris," she says. We drop into silence again, and for a second I close my eyes and try to imprint this moment into my mind.

_I will never forget this,_ I think to myself. The smell of Alex's perfume. The gentle ticking of the clockwork angel. The feeling of silk against skin. The disheveled state of her apartment.

This is one of those moments where you feel like maybe the universe doesn't hate you. This is one of those moments where you feel like you have someone who cares about you. This is one of the moments I'll cherish forever.

Alex has never been the type of person that talks about something personal or gives you heartfelt gifts. Her doing this shows that she trusts me.

It also means she'll be even more pissed off when I tell her about Uriah.

I take a deep breath. _Better late than never._

"Alex," I begin, "can I tell you something?" I clutch the angel, hoping that maybe it will help me with this.

Alex eyes me suspiciously. "Well with that tone of voice, I'm kind of scared. But go ahead," she says.

"Okay, but you have to promise not to be mad," I say. Her eyes spark and I know immediately that she knows I did something wrong.

She narrows her eyes at me, and all traces of gentleness is gone. "Beatrice Prior, what the hell did you do?!"

I rub my arm uncomfortably, not sure how to explain the situation without having her blow up in my face. "Well… you see…"

Alex's gaze hardened. "Spit it out!"

"Uriah knows who I really am!" I blurt.

I see anger flare in Alex's celery green eyes. "What the fuck?! How the hell did that happen?!" she yells at me.

I shrug awkwardly. How should I explain this without making Uriah sound like some master spy?  
"I guess I'm not that great of a liar," I finally say.

"I don't believe that for a second," Alex says with a wave of her hand. "Even I was convinced that you were Zoë Nightshade, and I already knew that you weren't."

"Calm down, Alex," I say in a surprisingly steady voice. "He probably thought that everyone was pulling a prank on him. I mean, he wasn't there when I actually died, and he didn't spend three years knowing that I was dead. I wouldn't believe that I was Zoë either."

Alex gives an understanding nod of her head, but I can still see the anger seething under her skin. "I want the entire story right now. Spill," she demands in a deceivingly calm voice. I know that voice. She uses it when she's trying to contain an outburst of fury. I should be scared.

"Before I explain anything," I say, "you have to promise that I will not be hurt before, during, or after my explanation." I look at her expectantly. I know that I'll have to tell her either way, but the guarantee that I won't be assaulted is a bonus.

Her hands ball into fists at her sides, but she nods her head.

I explain everything that happened a few hours ago, from when Uriah caused me to accidentally reveal my identity to when I got to Alex's apartment.

"So let me get this straight," Alex said irritably. She had calmed down slightly when she found out that I didn't blurt out my identity to the world, but she is still annoyed that someone found out in less than 24 hours of me being here. "Uriah called you by your real name, you responded to it, and then you admit that you're you like a total dumbass!" she said, her voice growing louder towards the end of her statement.

I straightened my back and glared. "I didn't kill anyone, did I?" I say, suddenly defensive. "No, I didn't. No one's dead, no one's harmed, everything is fine."

Alex ran a hand through her dark hair and took a calming breath. "It's not just that, Tris," she says in a gentler voice. "The thing about time is that one event can completely change the outcome of things. I mean, look at the war; let's say the Bureau decided not to hand over the simulation serum to Erudite," she explains. "Imagine what could've happened. See? Just that one decision changed the course of our lives."

I think about this for a moment. Time is a fascinating thing; something that shouldn't be messed with. Changing one thing from the past can change everything. That's why I hate it when people say that we should "live in the now, because that's all that matters." That's not true. The past affects the present, the present affects the future, and the future will eventually be the present that everyone makes a huge deal of.

But Uriah wouldn't throw everything off, would he? No. He wouldn't.

So I say to Alex, "Uriah's my friend; one of the only ones I have left. He won't tell anyone. I trust him."

Alex sighs, giving in. "I understand that, Tris. It's just that there really is a specific reason why you can't tell anyone," she explains. "Not only that we should mess with time as little as possible, but something really bad will happen if you tell your friends."

I stare at her, surprised. I thought the only reason I shouldn't tell anyone was so that we wouldn't "interfere with the passage of time." There's a different reason too? I don't bother to ask what that reason is; she'd never tell me.

I swallow the lump in my throat. "So now that Uriah's found out…?" I don't finish my sentence. I don't know how.

She shook her head. "I have no idea what's going to happen," Alex admitted. "Uriah isn't supposed to be alive. We didn't consider him a factor when we planned this out."

"Anything can happen?" I ask.

"Basically," Alex replies.

"So something good could come out of this?" I ask hopefully. Maybe my slip up isn't so bad after all.

"It's not likely," Alex says bluntly. "But it's possible." She glances at her watch. "Oh crap," she mumbles when she sees what time it is. "You're going to be late for your date."

"I'm kind of fine with that."

Alex ignores my comment. "Go meet Drake by the train tracks, got it?"

I nod reluctantly. I guess I should just get this over with… but knowing Alex, she'll make us pretend to long term date which will be _torture_.

I'm halfway out the door when Alex says, "And if you were scared of my reaction to your little slip up, imagine what _Drake _will do."

_Now_ I should be scared.

**A/N: Wow, this chapter was 2,000 words of NOTHING! I know this chapter is pretty boring, but you found something out something new about Alex. That counts for something, right? And I have a little something planned for next chapter *mischievous grin*. Can anyone guess what it is? It's kind of obvious… and no, Tobias is not finding out who Tris is.**

**Okay, I'm really sorry, but I probably won't be able to update for another two weeks… again. I have finals this week and then I'm leaving on vacation for another week! But I'll try to write while I'm on vacation; I mean I'm going to be spending 16 hours on a plane.**

**But maybe if you guys are good... I'll try to update on Wednesday. Remember, reviews make me HAPPY! ~Erica**


	17. Chapter 15

**A/N: Hello, guys! **

**SPECIAL HELLO TO ALL THE PEOPLE READING IN NEW ZEALAND! And to those New Zealanders that left reviews, yes, I am in America. I'm in Texas; and no, I do not walk around with a cowboy hat saying "y'all" every 5 seconds.**

**I've been receiving some reviews saying, "You never update anymore, I'm giving up on this story," or other things like that. Look, guys, I seriously am sorry that I don't update as often as I used to. I have other things going on, and I can't spend hours in front of my computer writing (no matter how much I want to). But I don't understand why so many of you are "giving up on this story." I'm still writing, aren't I? And I've seen authors who don't update for months and sometimes years. Compared to that, I update pretty often. Anyways, here's the chapter!**

**Tris POV**

"DRAKE CALIX LEGER!" I yell angrily at him, swiping the ketchup he squirted at me off my face.

He threw his head back laughing, enjoying the sight of my angry, ketchup-dripping face. He'll _pay_ for this. We were sitting under a tree in Millennium Park, eating the picnic that Alex had packed for us. Well, not really _eating_ anymore.

Out for revenge, I grabbed the Dauntless cake that was in the picnic basket and smashed it in his face mid laugh. His body went rigid, and he slowly wiped some of the cake and frosting off his face. I froze, shocked that I even had the nerve to do that, and then burst out laughing.

"You'll get it this time, Red," he said through gritted teeth. Oh crap. Before I had time to react, Drake picked me up and threw me over his shoulder. What the heck is he doing?

"Hey! Put me down!" I yell at him. I start pounding my fists on his back, but the effort is futile. It's as if I'm punching a wall of steel, my hands bouncing off harmlessly but coming back hurting more than before. Why did Drake have to be so built?

He ignored my useless efforts to get him to put me down. Drake carried me over to the fountain, set me on my feet, and pushed me directly into the stream of water. I felt the water rush over my entire body, felt the cold sting my skin like needles. I felt my hair stick to the back of my neck and my black dress become denser due to all the moisture. I am officially _killing him_.And if I don't do it myself, Alex will for what he did to the dress.

Drake doubled over in hysterics, laughing his head off. This was the perfect opportunity to get him wet too. While he was busy laughing at me, I grabbed his arms and yanked him under the stream of water beside me. His expression immediately froze in shock, the water causing Dauntless cake to drip down his face.

His black button-up shirt was now soaked through, along with his dark wash jeans. He stood there for a moment, letting the water run over him with a shocked expression on his face. My hand was clamped over my mouth, trying to conceal my smile.

Snapping out of his shocked state, he jumped out of the fountain with me close behind. He turned sharply on me, anger written all over his handsome features.

Drake glared daggers at me, his face turning a light shade of red. "BEATRI-" he cut himself off, his eyes widening and his hand clapping over his mouth once he realized what he was about to say. We looked at each other with scared expressions on our faces, all signs of anger or annoyance gone. My cover could be completely _blown_. Glancing around the park, we saw no sign that anyone heard or was suspicious.

Our eyes met another surprising sight.

We saw my brother, his dark hair and green eyes sparking in the bright afternoon sunlight.

But that wasn't the surprising part.

Caleb had his arm wrapped protectively around the waist of a girl. A girl with blond hair and green eyes. Cara.

They were laughing and talking together, sitting on a wooden bench close to the fountain. I have never seen Caleb with such a lively spark in his eyes, never seen Cara looking so care-free and happy.

When their laughter had died down, they stared into each other's eyes and smiled in the cheesy way you always see in movies. There was something so intimate about their gaze, something so private and loving that you'd have to be an idiot not to see that they were together.

My brother? _Dating_ Cara? When did this happen? _How did this happen?_

I looked in Drake's direction to find that he was already staring at me, his mouth forming a smirk.

"You know," he drawled out, "I find your reactions to all this relationship drama quite amusing. The wide eyes, the slack jaw, the way you look in my direction expecting a shocked reaction out of me too; it's all so utterly _hilarious._"

"You know what I find 'so utterly hilarious'?" I say, mimicking him. "The sight of you with soggy cake dripping down your face," I snapped with a glare. I seem to be glaring more than usual lately; especially when I'm around Drake.

Drake's smirk only widened at my remark. "I wish I could say the same for you, but unfortunately the ketchup has been completely washed off of your face." His smirk turned into a wide grin. "But _fortunately_ for me, I get to see you with raccoon eyes from all the makeup that's smeared."

I reached my hand up to touch the skin just below my eyelids. Sure enough, it came away with the black mascara and eyeliner Alex had used on my earlier. I quickly rubbed the makeup away with the back of my hand, Drake doing the same with the Dauntless cake.

Alex was going to _murder me_. With the messed up makeup and ruined dress, I practically had a death wish.

Before I could dwell on the thought too much, I heard a familiar voice yell out, "Beatrice! Beatrice, you're alive!"

My head swiveled in the direction of the voice where I saw Caleb's already bright expression brighten even more.

He ran up to me; I think he is going to hug me. I wouldn't want to have to flip someone _again_, and have another girlfriend freak out _again_.

Caleb being raised in Abnegation, he wouldn't want to hug me, right? I haven't even accustomed myself to much physical contact yet.

Apparently I was wrong, because Caleb wrapped his arms around me in a fierce, bone-crushing hug.

"Beatrice—Tris—you're okay. Oh my god—you're okay." And his voice was just so full of sorrow and happiness and just a tiny bit of guilt that I almost didn't pull away from his grasp. Almost.

But Drake was standing beside me, his face screwed into a fake expression of confusion as to why Caleb was talking to me. His eyes were conveying a message to me that said, _Pull away now or else_. With Drake, you never want to find out what that _or else_ is. So I put my act back up.

I force my facial features into an expression of anger. I force myself to pull roughly away from Caleb's grip, even though it kills me to do so. I force myself to open my mouth and say, "Who are you and what the hell do you think you're doing?!" in a harsh tone.

My eyes sneak a glance at Drake, who was putting up his own act by glaring at Caleb. At least, I think it was just an act. There was a certain undercurrent of hate and anger that I don't think Drake was making up. It had never occurred to me that Drake might have also blamed Caleb for my death.

Alex had told me about this while we were in the past.

_"I want you to be prepared for some hate towards Caleb," Alex said, sitting next to me on our beat-up living room couch._

_I looked up from the book I was reading, __The Hunger Games__, and shot Alex a questioning glance. "And why would that be?" _

_She sighed. "Some people blamed Caleb for the cause of your death. It would've died down a bit at the time we get to Chicago, but I don't want you to be surprised if he gets a couple of glares."_

_My eyebrows drew together in confusion. "How could anyone possibly have blamed Caleb?"_

_Alex shrugged. "You know how the world is. They always need someone to blame. And in this case, it's Caleb."_

_"But it's not Caleb's fault," I said in a harder tone._

_Alex shrugged. "It's not. But no one's going to blame you; you're the one who died. No one's going to blame David; his memory is gone. Caleb is the only person they could blame without seeming disrespectful."_

_"That's stupid logic!" I said, my voice rising at the end._

_"Not really. It sort of makes sense. I mean, if Caleb had just manned up and gone to the Weapons Lab instead of you, you'd be alive and the Bureau would still be gone. It's sort of a win win situation," Alex explained flatly._

_I stared at her, my face a mask of horror. "What do you mean it's a 'win win situation'?!" I exclaimed. "My brother would be dead; he's the last family I had left! And what if he hadn't survived the death serum long enough to release the memory serum? What if he panicked and David shot him? And then what would happen to me? I would have no family left, and I'd blame myself for his death because I was too much of a coward to replace him! There's so much to be lost in that situation!" I was breathing heavily after my rant, my eyes staring straight into Alex's wide, green eyes, surprised at my outburst._

_After a brief moment of silence, Alex's face went into a stony expression. Her eyes held mine. "Look, Tris, you need to get better at concealing your emotions. We can't have one of those kinds of outbursts while you're undercover. We can't have you showing that you care so much about these people. Right now, love isn't what we need."_

_That's what she says? That I have to hide my emotions? Nothing about how she should admit that it wasn't Caleb's fault? Nothing about how if anyone's at fault, it's me?_

_I shook my head at her. "You wouldn't understand. You don't know what it's like to have a sibling you grew up with and cared for. You don't know what it's like to be betrayed by that sibling. You don't know what it's like to have them sit by and watch while someone attempts to murder you!" I yelled. Then, in a quieter voice, I said, "You don't know what it's like to love them anyways. You don't know what it's like to be like me."_

_I stood from the couch, book in hand, and stormed into my bedroom. I didn't bother to look back._

After that, we ignored each other for about a week before Alex came and apologized. Even afterwards, it took me a while to forgive her.

I don't blame Caleb. I've never blamed him. It was my choice to go to the Weapons Lab instead of him and mine alone. I had never even thought to blame him.

And I don't understand how Drake could blame him too.

I was snapped out of my memories when I heard Caleb say in a desperate voice, "Tris? What are you doing? It's your brother, Caleb!" He reached for my hand, and it took all that I had to pull away before he could touch me.

"What are you talking about? You are _not_ my brother," I spat out. I really should've chosen a nicer personality... but it might have been easier to tell it was me.

Hurt flashes across his eyes. He backs slowly away from me, as if I punched him in the face. "I—I thought that you forgave me for helping Jeanine. I thought—I thought that you _accepted_ me again," Caleb said, his voice dripping with sadness and despair. _I have forgiven you Caleb,_ I ache to say. _I do accept you!_

"I have no idea what you're talking about," I say angrily, but my voice wavered at the end. How could I be so cruel when Caleb looked on the verge of tears?

"Is this about the Weapons Lab?" Caleb says, guilt creeping into his voice. "I would've gone instead of you! But you had a gun pointed at me and I—I just thought that—Ugh!" He runs a frustrated hand through his hair. "You had a gun pointed at me and I knew that you'd blame yourself if I died, okay?!" Caleb yells. "I already knew you blamed yourself for enough deaths," he says quietly, solemnly. Faces flashed across my mind at the thought of his last sentence. Al. Will. Mom. Dad. Marlene. All of them gone. All of them gone because of me.

Maybe it was the guilt in his voice or the sadness on his face, but for some reason my voice came out gentler than before. "I think you have the wrong girl. My name is Zoë Nightshade," I say in a soft, kind voice that for some reason was startlingly familiar. It took me a moment to recognize it; it was the voice I used while I was still in Abnegation. The voice of a girl who wasn't allowed to look in the mirror or even give a second thought about herself. It's funny; I thought that voice was long gone by now. Ironic how the voice came back while I'm speaking to the person who taught me to use it.

Caleb scanned me up and down, looking for signs that I was his little sister. I don't know what he saw. He certainly didn't see the girl he grew up with so long ago. Maybe he saw a strong, independent woman I always hoped to grow up to be. But, no, he probably saw a girl soaking wet with a little bit of makeup still running down her face. Or he might've been able to see Beatrice Prior. But he sure as hell didn't believe I was who I said I was.

Drake cleared his throat after a while of Caleb scrutinizing me. "If you're done checking out my _girlfriend_," Drake said, enunciating _girlfriend_ very carefully, "then we should get going." He slung his arm around my shoulder and pulled me close. What was he doing?

I looked up at him, a question in my eyes. He looked back at me, his eyes saying, _I'll explain later—Go with it._

Caleb nodded, but you could tell by the furrow in his eyebrows that he still believed I was Tris. Of course he believed that; I mean he's Erudite. He's not stupid.

Finally, Cara, who had been sitting on the bench watching the scene for the last 5 minutes, came to her senses and came to stand beside Caleb.

"Caleb, honey," she said sweetly, putting a hand on his arm. _Honey? _"What are you talking about with Zoë and Drake?"

Caleb looked at Cara, his eyes full of love. "Who's Drake?" he asked, genuinely curious. Out of the two years Drake has been here, he's never met Caleb? Talk about antisocial.

Cara rolled her eyes playfully. "He's the guy you've been talking to for the past five minutes, silly." Cara giggled. Since when did Cara _giggle?_

A light blush spread across Caleb's cheeks and he smiled sheepishly. "Oh, right. I knew that. I definitely knew that."

Drake smirked. "Sure you did," Drake said, holding out his hand for Caleb to shake. "I am Drake Calix Leger, certified sexy asscrown on a mission to get this girl right here to sleep with me." My eyes widened at the realization of what Drake just said, and I punched him hard in the shoulder. I _cannot_ believe he just said that. Caleb is going to _flip_.

But Caleb only nodded slowly, a spark of anger and disgust in his eyes directed at Drake for his comment. He ignored the hand Drake had put out for him to shake. I shot Drake a glare, but he ignored me, looking at Caleb with a smirk on his face.

"He didn't mean that," I say quickly, hoping to amend what Caleb sees of Drake. I was seething under my skin, furious at Drake for saying something like that in front of my brother. Not only did he say we were dating, but he also said that he wanted to sleep with me. Caleb _did not_ like guys like that. Didn't Drake want to make a good impression on my brother? Even if he did blame Caleb for my death, _he's my brother._

I heard Cara mutter, "I wouldn't be surprised if he did." I know that Drake has always been sort of a "player," but I'm certain that he doesn't want to sleep with me. I mean, he doesn't even want to _date_ me.

I cleared my throat, anxious to change the topic. "So," I say, "what brings you to Millennium Park?" Apparently Cara wanted to change the topic too, because she said, "Oh, Caleb and I thought that it was a nice day to have a date here." Caleb wraps an arm around her waist, as if wanting to confirm that they were dating.

I wanted to know more about their relationship; who wouldn't? Caleb only ever seemed serious about Susan, and they weren't even _that_ serious. Cara and Caleb never seemed remotely interested in each other. What changed?

I was about to ask another question, when Drake interrupted me, saying, "We're on a date too!" he said with mock enthusiasm. "And we'd like to finish it without having to bother with two know-it-alls," Drake finished harshly. Why the heck is he being so mean? I'm going to have to yell at him about this later.

"You can go. We won't mind," Caleb spat out. The sentence was polite enough, but the way he said it so venomously was enough of a clue that he didn't want us here.

Drake nodded stiffly. "Then we'll be going." And before I had a chance to add anything to the conversation, Drake was pulling me away by the hand.

Once we were out of earshot and walking the streets of Chicago outside of Millennium Park, I yanked my hand from Drake's and shoved him away from me. "What the hell was that about?!" I yell angrily at him.

Drake's expression went from smug to confused. "I have no idea what you're talking about," he said.

I glared angrily at him. "You know exactly what I'm talking about."

He rolled his eyes and continued walking as if I hadn't shoved or yelled at him. "Fine, I know what you're talking about. What's the big deal?" He walked casually, me close by his side, his hands shoved in the pockets of his jeans.

"What do you mean 'what's the big deal?'" I yell at him. "First you say that we're dating, then you introduce yourself to my brother like a huge dick, and after that you insult both Cara and Caleb by calling them know-it-alls! Don't you want to _at least _be friends with them?"

Drake glanced around to make sure no one was watching, then pulled my into an alley between two tall buildings. He put his hands on my shoulders. "You can't go yelling around that Caleb's your brother, got it? He only has one sister, and that's Tris Prior," he told me sternly, ignoring the fact that I was angry at him.

I knew he was right. I can't risk blowing my cover; not again. Speaking of which, I still need to tell him about Uriah. But I was still mad at him. "What, no apology? No explanation?!" I say, outraged. I'm tired of being left out in the dark.

Drake sighed. "You're right; you deserve an explanation to my actions out there. What do you want to know?" It's weird how Drake can go so easily from one personality to the next. At first glance he's an ass, a cocky boy who doesn't seem to care about anyone but himself. Then you get to know him better and see that he can actually be nice, see that he may be cocky but acknowledges the strengths of others as well. He's not really that bad.

"First thing I want to know is why you made him believe we were dating," I demanded.

"Well, it was a split-second decision," Drake began. "Caleb didn't believe you when you said who you were. I couldn't think of any other way to convince him than to show him we were dating."

I raised my eyebrows at him, confused. "That doesn't make any sense."

"Let me explain," he said, exasperated. "Caleb knows you; you're good and pure and loyal." I blush at that. "He knows you would never go for someone like me—someone so arrogant and thoughtless. He knows that even if you would, you're loyal to Tobias." It's true; I would never go for someone that Drake made himself to be in front of Caleb. I wouldn't even go near a guy that treated women like objects, the way Drake pretended to do. Caleb knows that too.

I nodded. "Smart of you… sort of. But now we actually have to pretend to date." I groaned. Now we didn't have a choice. We'd have to date until Caleb needs no more confirmation that I'm Zoë Nightshade. And unless he spends more time around Dauntless headquarters, that's not happening any time soon.

"Not necessarily," Drake said. "We only have to date around Caleb. And we almost never see him, so I don't think we'll be getting romantic anytime soon. Thank god."

"So we only have to fake date around Caleb?" I asked, clarifying.

Drake rolled his eyes. "Yes, I just said that," he answered in an annoyed voice.

"You think he'd figure us out if he finds out we weren't really dating?"

He considered it for a moment. "If Caleb finds out we lied, he'd want to know why. And he's not stupid—if he gets to know the situation better he'd put together the puzzle pieces soon enough."

Suddenly, we heard a crash from one of the garbage bins in the alley. We turned at the same time to see that the bin was shaking, as if someone or _something _was trying to get out of it.

I took a slow step towards it, wanting to investigate. Drake immediately caught my wrist, whispering, "No, let me do it; it could be dangerous."

I laughed harshly. "I've dealt with enough dangerous situations in my lifetime. I can handle another one."

He smirked. "But you've never handled one unarmed," he said, pulling a gun out of the waistband of his jeans. Who carries a gun on a date?

"On the contrary," I say, "I have, when Erudite broke into Candor headquarters." I plucked the gun out of his hand quickly. "But now I don't have to go into _this_ situation unarmed," I finish smugly.

Before Drake had time to snatch his gun back, I ran to the trash bin. I looked at it cautiously; it seemed like someone was still trying to get out. I turned the gun's safety off and pointed it in front of me. With my other hand, I slowly lifted the lid off of the trash bin.

Staring back at me was a boy. A boy with the same celery green eyes, blond hair, and crease between his eyebrows as three years ago. I gasped and said in a choked voice, "Will?"

**A/N: I'm sorry if this is messed up or something, I did half of this on my phone… But anyways I literally just got back from vacation at 2 in the morning, so don't think I was holding back on you people. I'm sorry for the long wait, but this is the longest chapter I've ever written for this story so it sort of kind of makes up for it! And it's finally SUMMER VACATION! I'll try to post more; now I don't have lessons to worry about!**

**I brought Will back! YAY! The complications between Christina and Tobias are about arise and I think that will make everyone very happy **

**And who knows? Maybe a romance will start to brew between ****Zoë and Tobias… maybe. Just maybe.**

**I promise I'll try really really hard to get another chapter up within a week; no more waiting for two weeks. YAY! Please leave your opinions in the reviews, and remember: reviews motivate me to write! Thanks to all the people who have been sticking with me even though I keep disappearing—YOU GUYS ARE AWESOME!~Erica **


	18. Chapter 16

**A/N: It didn't take me two weeks to update this time! New accomplishment, right?**

**ZOMG GUYS THIS STORY IS ALMOST AT 400 REVIEWS! How is that even possible?! I've only posted 17 chapters! Well now I've posted 18 chapters, but still, WOW! Thanks you guys so much! Here's the chapter, enjoy reading!**

**Tris POV**

I gasped and said in a choked voice, "Will?" He didn't answer; he just stared back at me with wide green eyes.

I turned my head in Drake's direction to see that he was already coming towards me, wanting to see just what the hell was going on. His eyes widened, taking in the sight of dirty, ratty Will sitting in a dumpster.

"How did you get in there?" Drake asked Will in a composed voice. But his voice wavered at the end, showing me he hadn't expected this either.

Will's eyebrows drew together. "I—I don't remember," he answered. Drake and I exchanged a glance. How could he not remember?

"Do you need help getting out of there?" Drake asked him instead. Will gave a small nod of his head. Drake and I came to an unspoken decision that he'd grab one arm and I'd grab the other. Once we had Will in a firm grip, Drake said, "On three. 1…" I cut him off. "THREE!" I yelled, and yanked Will's right arm up. Drake did the same with the left arm, annoyed that he'd been interrupted.

Within two seconds, Will was standing beside us. I couldn't believe he was so light. I took a closer look at him. His face was gaunt, his cheekbones pronounced. You could see his collarbones clearly, and his elbows and knees stood out sharply. He was basically skin and bones. He was skin, bones, and _dirt._ His face, arms, and body was covered in black dirt, obscuring his pale skin. But then again, he _was_ in a dumpster.

What happened to him? I thought he was _dead_.

The celebration could come later. For now, I was just concerned and curious as to what happened to him. "Are you alright?" I asked Will.

He gave a slight nod of his head and looked around the rest of the alley, scanning and analyzing his surroundings. Once an Erudite, always an Erudite.

He looked more confused than ever when he looked at Drake and I. He turned to me. "Excuse me for asking," Will said politely, "but who exactly are you?"

I almost forgot. He didn't see Tris, the girl he went through initiation with and befriended. He sees a red-headed, drenched, raccoon/green-eyed girl. And of course he wouldn't recognize Drake—he's never met him.

"Oh, excuse me for not introducing myself earlier." I smile at him. "I'm Zoë Nightshade," I add, sticking my hand out for him to shake. He took it, his grip weak and hand frail. How did he become so fragile?

"Nightshade," he restated. "Interesting last name you have there, Zoë."

I shrugged. "It's Greek," I answered. Alex had told me of Nightshade's origins before we left for Chicago; she learned all about Greeks in a book she read. I think it was called Peter Johnson and the Olympics or something close to that…

Will nodded. "What about your friend over there?" he said, jerking his head in Drake's direction. Drake was standing a few feet away from us, arms crossed over his chest in an 'I don't really care about this situation' stance. If you didn't know Drake as well as I did, you wouldn't be able to see the wariness in his eyes, the stiffness of his back, and the way he stood ready to attack. He was suspicious of Will, scared that this might be a trap. It was just like Drake to be paranoid.

"His name is Drake," I said, averting my attention from Drake and back to Will. "What's your name?" I asked curiously, as if I didn't already know the answer.

_Will_, I expected him to say. Will opened his mouth and said, "My name is –" he cut himself off and furrowed his eyebrows. "My name is…" he started again, seeming more confused than ever. What's wrong?

Drake stood at attention immediately, seeing that there was a problem. He walked closer to us, standing beside me. "Your name is…?" Drake asked urgently, waiting for Will to finish the sentence. Drake knew that something wasn't right. I knew it too.

Will's face scrunched together in concentration. After a moment of silence, Will looked back up at us with confused, scared eyes. "I—I don't remember," he said softly, shaking his head. "I don't remember my name!"Will repeated, his voice more frightened than before.

Drake and I exchanged a glance. _Oh no,_ our eyes said to each other. This was bad, this was really bad. Will took a moment to look into his thoughts, digging through his brain to try and find the memory of who he was. Will's eyes widened even more, and he ran a hand through his blonde hair. "I don't—I don't remember _anything_!" Will yelled in a panicked voice.

I reached out and touched Will's arm reassuringly. "You need to calm down," I said in a reasonable voice, even though I was freaking out on the inside. What could've happened to him that caused his memories to vanish? Never mind that, what could've happened to him that caused him to still be _alive_? "We'll help you," I soothed, not knowing how we could actually help him. "Right, Drake?" I looked at Drake, hoping that he would nod.

But instead he looked torn, looking like he was trying to make a hard decision. This wasn't a hard decision, we needed to help him. I caught Drake's eye. _Don't defy me,_ my eyes said to him. He cast his eyes downward and bit his lip, something he did whenever he didn't know what to do. Drake looked back at me. _He could be a threat_, his brown eyes told me. Drake didn't trust all of these people springing back from the dead. But I did. They were my friends.

Will seemed to notice Drake's indecision, because he started to hyperventilate. "Please—please help me. I—I don't—I don't know what to do," Will stuttered out between panicked breaths. He looked like he was about to pass out from shock or panic or a combination of both.

I gave Drake a death glare. _I'm helping him whether you like it or not._

Drake gave a barely imperceptible shake of his head. _No._ His eyes pleaded with me to agree with him, to just leave Will out here all alone. _It's too risky,_ his eyes reasoned out.

Will apparently saw Drake shake his head no, because he started breathing faster and deeper. "No! Please don't leave me! Please, help me! I'm so confused and I don't know what to do and I want help, I want to know what happened to me! It's—I just—I just—" Will never got to finish his sentence, because his eyes rolled to the back of his head and he fainted on the spot.

I immediately dashed forward on instinct. I caught him before he could hit concrete and set him gently on the ground. I kneeled beside him, panicked. He _fainted_! What were we supposed to do with an unconscious teenage boy? I checked his pulse and let out a sigh of relief when I found that it was normal.

I shot Drake yet another glare. "Look what you did, you asscrown! You made him faint! You made him have a panic attack, and he fainted!"

Drake looked at the unconscious Will on the floor, his mouth slightly agape. Perhaps Drake hadn't intended to make Will pass out. But Drake quickly composed his shocked expression into an expression of nonchalance. "In my defense, I'm sure the whole being found in a dumpster and memory loss dilemma contributed to at least half of that panic attack," Drake said in a bored tone, pretending not to care about the entire situation. But I know Drake _did_ care according to his reaction earlier. "And based on his physical appearance, starvation or dehydration was probably also a factor."

I shook my head. "Come on, we're taking him back to Dauntless headquarters," I said to him. I stood up from my spot crouching next to Will, and crossed my arms over my chest defiantly.

"No, Tris," Drake immediately protested. "It's too big of a risk-"

I cut him off. "I can deal with risks." I stubbornly stood my ground. Will needed help. What was wrong with his memories? What happens if his brain is damaged? Who did this to him?

Drake looked like he really did want to help Will. But he was hesitating. He didn't want to risk the mission, even if it meant leaving an unconscious boy with amnesia stuck out in the middle of the streets of Chicago.

"I don't know, Tris. What happens if he's a spy and he just _looks_ like Will? What happens if this is a trap of some sort? We can't risk this mission."

I shook my head at him. "I am taking him back, no matter what you say." I could feel the anger at Drake bubbling in my chest, could feel the urge to help Will coursing through my veins, could feel the happiness of seeing my friend alive again making me light-headed. I wonder how I can feel so many different emotions at once without exploding.

Drake still looked like he didn't want to put our little mission in danger. "Listen, Tris-"

I cut him off once again, my anger finally getting the best of me. I looked him straight in the eye. "No, Drake, _you_ listen to _me_," I commanded. I got close to him, hoping to make myself intimidating. "I am taking him back to headquarters and _you_," I roughly poked his chest with my index finger, "are _not_ going to stop me. He is my _friend,_ and I am going to get him help whether you like it or not."

I stared him down, daring to him to go against me. He looked at me, shocked that I was so determined to help Will, shocked that I had defied his word. Even though Drake and I have had our disputes, I had never gone against a serious order from him. Well, I had never _intentionally_ gone against a serious order from him. I suppose telling Uriah counts as disobeying orders.

After a while of us staring at each other, Drake gave a sigh of resignation. "Fine," Drake said reluctantly. "Take him back to Dauntless."

"Good," I said superiorly. It took me a moment to realize that we were standing a little _too_ close together. I pulled away immediately, my anger drained away, and blushed slightly. I saw Drake blush faintly as well, which surprised me. Drake almost _never_ blushes.

"Okay," I said, breaking the awkward silence that had settled over us. "I'll grab the arms, you grab the legs, and we'll carry him to the train together."

I move to grab his arms, expecting Drake to follow suit with the legs, but before I can even reach for Will's arms, Drake says, "Not so fast. I'm letting you bring him back to Dauntless on one condition: he's your responsibility. Which means," Drake smirked, "you carry him back on your own."

I glared. "I can't carry him back by myself!"

Drake crossed his arms over his chest. "Then we leave him here to deal with his own problems," he said with finality. And knowing Drake, he meant it.

I scowled. "I hate you."

His smirk only widened. "Love you too, Red."

I shook my head, but still slid my arms under Will's neck and knees, lifting him with great effort. He may have only been skin and bones, but he was still _heavy_. I was never exactly the strongest girl out there.

"Okay," I said, grunting with the effort of carrying Will. "Let's get to the tracks before I drop him."

We started walking to the tracks, Drake laughing every once in awhile when he sees me struggling to hold Will's weight. I managed though; I think the physical training I did while we were in the past paid off. Hours of chin-ups, push-ups, and punching punching bags was worth something after all.

By the time we got to the tracks, my arms were shaking from exhaustion. How could I get on the train without dropping Will?

I heard the tracks rumble, signaling that the train was approaching. I had to come up with something quickly. I couldn't very well throw Will through the train door, and I wouldn't be able to get on the train while holding him.

Drake saw my problem and sighed. "Give me Will."

I only glared at him. "What are you going to do, push him in front of the train because he's so big of a 'threat'?"

"Well unless you want to attempt to jump on the train without dropping him, you should probably give him to me."

He was willing to help me? Even if he didn't want to bring Will with us?

I could see the train approaching rapidly, and I knew that I didn't really have a choice but to give him Will. I handed Will over gently, careful not to jostle him too much.

Drake slung Will over his shoulder, the way he did with me before he threw me into the fountain. We jumped on the train, Drake holding Will with one arm and grabbing onto the handle with another.

Once inside the cart, Drake set Will on the floor gently and sat down beside him. I sat down opposite to Drake and gave him a small smile. "Thanks for the help," I said quietly.

He scowled at me. "Yeah, well don't expect me to help you like that again."

His tone was harsh, but I knew he was just covering up the fact that he actually had compassion for others. That he cared for others even though he never showed it. That he was just as selfless as an Abengation could be. And in that moment, I was positive that Drake was a good person. He may have had his flaws, but I knew that he had good virtues too. He would still help people if they needed it, he would do anything for his friends, he has a sharp mind, and he is one of the bravest people I've ever met.

Sometimes I wonder why he doesn't let the rest of the world see that.

**Unknown POV**

I slammed my fist hard on the desk. "What the hell do you mean?!" I yelled at my assistant.

"I told you three times already," they answered in a trembling voice.

"I do not fully understand this," I said, rubbing my forehead. "There are other people messing with time, my troops found their time machine, and then they flee the scene?! They were sent to destroy, or at least hide it!"

"Ever heard of the term 'Don't shoot the messenger'?" they said.

"Why did they abandon the mission?" I said through gritted teeth. To say I was angry was an understatement.

"Someone was coming; they didn't want to blow their cover," my assistant answered timidly.

I nodded. I shouldn't have sent the amateurs out there—my more experienced men would've shot and killed whoever came in their way. Just the way I would've liked it.

"Send in my best men," I told my assistant. "We are going to make sure that whoever these time travelers are can't change any mistakes they make."

**A/N: Ohhh, "Shit's about to go down in Dauntless town!" as reviewer Mermaidhorse so awesomely put it. I wonder what could've happened to Will… well I know what happened to Will. You guys don't. Sorry if it seemed like Will overreacted in this chapter. He's a bit traumatized about something someone did to him... you'll find out soon enough.**

**So I got a few reviews saying that they were scared that Drake might hurt Uriah. And I was thinking "Why would Drake hurt Uriah?" because I was so confused. Then I suddenly realized that you guys thought that Drake would hurt Uriah because Uriah found out that Tris was Tris! I hadn't even thought of that! It's a good idea actually… hmm… Haha, I'm just kidding, I'm not hurting Uri! **

**Please leave your opinions in the reviews—can we get to 400? Thanks for reading! ~Erica **


	19. Chapter 17

**A/N: THANK YOU GUYS FOR 400 REVIEWS! It kind of seems like an unreasonable amount of reviews; I've posted less than 20 chapters. How did I get 400 reviews out of that?! I kind of feel like I don't deserve it… I don't update as often as some other authors do, and my writing isn't that great, but anyway, THANK YOU GUYS!**

**Here's the chapter! Enjoy reading! :)**

* * *

**Tris POV**

"And why exactly are we entering via net?" Drake asked irritably, gazing down at the gaping hole in the ground from the top of a seven story building. I had set Will on the ground at my feet, his unconscious state rendering him immobile.

"Because, Drake, if we enter through the normal entrance, everyone will see us dragging in an unconscious, dangerously skinny teenage boy who's supposed to be, you know, _dead_," I snapped at him. "Imagine the chaos and confusion that would come if our friends saw Will alive and breathing. What we need to do is enter quietly and bring him to Alex. From there we'll figure out what to do with him and how to help."

"You're telling me you insisted on bringing him back with us without actually knowing what we were going to do with him?" he asked with a scowl. "Don't you ever plan ahead?"

"I plan ahead!" I said defensively.

He raised an eyebrow. "Oh, really? Name one time you have made a smart plan ahead of time."

"The memory serum," I answered immediately. "It was my idea to release it on the people at the Bureau." Drake rolled his eyes.

"And look how successful that plan was," he retorted harshly.

I hate to admit it, but his comment stung. I know that the plan wasn't a complete success, but I still released the serum, didn't I? Everyone else completed what they were supposed to do, right? The Bureau was taken down and Chicago lived in peace. Well, up until now.

It hurt to think that Drake didn't have faith in me. I don't know why. I suppose it's the fact that he's basically the leader of our little gang, and I have always had a fierce determination to prove myself to people like him; to anyone, really. And because of that, his words stung more than they should have. It's weird how sometimes words can hurt us more than a punch to the face would. It's weird how words can sometimes be thrown around carelessly without people realizing how much a single sentence can hurt someone.

But I couldn't show any sign of weakness. I don't understand why Drake can seem like a nice, compassionate person at one moment and then act like a huge asshole the next.

I pinched my lips together so my mouth wouldn't force itself into a frown. Instead of showing that his comment had hurt me in any way, I said, "You jump down first. I'll throw Will down there after you, and you move him out of the way while I jump down. Okay?"

Instead of actually answering, he averts his eyes away from me and moves towards the edge of the building. But for just a second, I swear I saw just a small bit of regret flash in his eyes. Perhaps he hadn't meant for his comment to be so harsh?

He jumped down and into the net without so much as a glance in my direction. I assumed that he was going to move Will out of the way when I tossed him down there, or else I would be landing on a big sack of bones.

I lifted Will the same way I had earlier, my arms still sore. I looked down as if making sure that the huge crater was still there and tossed Will into the darkness. Hopefully Drake actually cared enough to move him out of the way.

I stood at the edge of the building, looking down at the darkness that at one point seemed like the biggest challenge I had to face. A wave of nostalgia swept over me, a sudden longing to be back to the girl who stood here so long ago. The girl who stood here with gray clothes instead of black ones. The girl who had no idea what kind of challenges the world would throw at her.

And I suddenly wondered something. If I knew just how my situation ended, would I do it again? Would I still have taken that risk and jumped? Would I have ventured outside the fence to my own death, even if it meant saving the people of Chicago?

I remembered what I had been thinking the first time I stood here. _Don't think. Just bend your knees and jump_.

And so I did. I bent my knees and jumped into the net far below, the wind whistling past my ears. Adrenaline pumped through my veins, giving me that feeling I always loved about being Dauntless. I loved feeling that I could do these care-free things, loved that feeling of absolute freedom.

My back hit the net and I felt the breath whoosh out of me. My first thought was, _Thank goodness Drake had the decency to move Will out of the way._

Drake stuck his rough and callused hand out to help me out of the net, just as Tobias did on the first day of my initiation. Being back in Dauntless brought back so many good memories, so many memories of utter freedom and happiness.

I grabbed his hand and let him haul me out of the net. "First jumper—Zoë," Drake said jokingly. I laughed while Drake let a tiny smile show. And there goes Drake again, saying a harsh comment one second and then the next joking around with me. I don't know if he was trying to make up for saying something cruel or if this was just how he was, but it was confusing.

I glanced around to see where Will was, to find him in a sitting position against the wall, his celery green eyes looking back at me.

"Glad to see you're awake," I said.

"Are you done freaking out?" Drake asked not unkindly. That was simply what he was like, saying things as they are. We _did_ need to know if Will was going to have a panic attack, but we _didn't_ need to be so blunt about it.

I looked at Will, glad to see he didn't take Drake's comment as rude. Instead, he smiled. "Oh yeah, I'm pretty sure I won't pass out again," he said sheepishly. "Sorry about that, by the way. I was kind of shocked about the whole memory loss thing."

I smiled back at him. "Oh, that's fine. I mean it's kind of a lot to process at once."

Will nodded. "So, where are we?"

"We're in Dauntless headquarters," I said. "Drake and I are going to try and find out why your memory is gone. And I think you'll meet some nice people here to help you adjust." I looked at Drake. "Where's Alex?"

He shrugged. "She's most likely in her apartment, reading or watching some drama show. You know how she is."

Will looked at us questionably. "Why do we need to go to this girl named Alex? Is she a doctor or something?"

"No, she's not a doctor," I answered. "She's a friend who will know what to do." I couldn't tell him why we were really going to see Alex. She was the brains of our little gang, and she'd be able to find out what was wrong with Will. And we would be able to explain to her that someone is going around messing with time again. If it were anyone else, they would freak out because they would have no idea why Will was back from the dead.

Will stood up on his feet and looked around the area.

"Okay," I said quietly so only Drake could hear, "we'll have to sneak around so that no one can have the chance to recognize Will. We wouldn't want to cause a scene."

"That shouldn't be a problem. It's still lunch time, and anyone who would be able to recognize Will is our friends. They travel in a pack, doing everything together. They're probably still in the dining hall, eating lunch together," Drake said just as quietly. I nodded.

"You know we'll have to tell everyone about him eventually," he said, eyeing Will to make sure he wasn't listening in. We can't have Will knowing that we know who he is or that we want to hide him from everyone. If he does eventually regain his memory, he'll wonder why Zoë Nightshade, a girl who looks like one of his close friends, knew who he was even though he never met Zoë. I had to act like I had never met him.

"I know, we _will_ tell everyone." I watched Will look at the net, his curious Erudite eyes examining it. "But it was already stressful for him to find out he didn't know who he was. Introducing him to a whole group of people who know his identity while he doesn't will add even more stress. Don't you think it would be kind of overwhelming? We need to do this slowly and carefully," I explained to Drake.

Drake nodded and averted his eyes. "I'm sorry that I said you don't plan ahead," he said so quietly I had to strain to hear. "And I'm sorry that I said your plan with the memory serum was a bad one. I—I don't mean that." It sounded like he was choking on his own words. Not because he didn't want to apologize, but because he doesn't usually do it. Drake almost never apologizes; he does things without regret. The only person I've ever seen him say sorry to was Alex, and they've been friends their entire lives. Is Drake Calix Leger seriously apologizing to me, Beatrice Prior?

I didn't let my shock show on my face. "It's okay, Drake," I assured. "You were right, though. I don't exactly plan ahead that often. I'm kind of impulsive."

He locked eyes with me. "Hey, if anyone here is impulsive, it's me," he said with a smile.

"Not really. You planned this entire thing, didn't you?" I raised an eyebrow.

Drake shrugged. "You have no idea the kinds of things I've done before this."

Before I could ask what exactly he had done, Will interrupted, saying, "Are you guys dating?" He asked this with the bright curiosity and bluntness a child would have. I suppose that's what happens when all your memories and experiences disappear.

He was leaning against the wall a few feet away from us. "What makes you say that?" What I really wanted to ask was, _Why does everyone think that?_

"You guys are standing pretty close together for a boy and girl. And you guys can do that weird thing where you communicate with your eyes. It kind of seems like it," he said. It was only then that I realized in our effort to keep Will from hearing our conversation, Drake and I had moved closer together; a little _too_ close. I quickly stepped away from Drake, a blush coating Drake's cheeks. I didn't blush; we're practically brother and sister, and almost everyone thinks we're dating anyway.

"We're not dating," Drake said calmly, but I could hear the undercurrent of annoyance to his voice.

Will smirked. "The blush spreading across your face says otherwise." Drake glared.

"We're not dating," I repeated to Will.

He raised his eyebrows, grinning mischievously. "Well even if you aren't, Drake over there definitely likes you." I remained calm. Drake and I already got this chat yesterday with our friends, we didn't need it again.

"Can we just go talk to Alex?" Drake snapped.

Will rolled his eyes. "Let's go, Lover Boy." I laughed at Will's nickname for Drake, but I quickly cut myself off when Drake directed his glare at me.

"Follow us," I said, the corners of my mouth still turning up in a small smile. "Drake and I will lead the way."

We opened the doors to the Pit, it being mostly deserted due to the fact that it was still lunch time. Everyone was usually in the dining hall at this time.

"I don't like him," Drake mumbled to me, Will trailing far enough away that he was out of earshot.

I rolled my eyes. "You're just saying that because he's annoying you. Trust me, he's cool."

"Oh, yeah? What happens if he's a spy or something?" he said.

"What would I be spying on you for?" Will said loudly from right behind us. I jumped. I hadn't heard him coming closer.

Will moved to stand between Drake and I. "And you guys shouldn't be talking about me when I'm right behind you. I don't think that's polite," he said bluntly.

"You shouldn't eavesdrop on other people's conversations," Drake shot back at him.

"Am I on your bad side now because of the whole 'liking Zoë' thing?" Will asked. We were where the apartments are, Alex's not far from our location.

"You were on my bad side since we pulled you out of that dumpster," Drake said, scowling.

"Well then I like Zoë better than you." Will slung his arm over my shoulders while I laughed. It was good to have Will back to his joking self. I hadn't been able to see this side of him while he was freaking out in the alley. The fact that he was acting like his old self assured me that he'd be okay.

We reached Alex's apartment door and Drake knocked. Alex opened the door, book and granola bar in hand.

She looked at Will standing in between us. It took a while for her to process who he was, but once she realized that he was supposed to be dead her eyes widened.

Alex gestured to him with her granola bar. "Is that…?" She trailed off, not able to finish her sentence.

"Yup," Drake answered even though she hadn't really asked a question. "We found him without any of his memories." Alex looked back at Will, her eyes wider than before.

Will's eyebrows scrunched together. "I'm sorry, do I know you?"

Alex gawked at us, still in shock that Will was alive.

She glanced at Drake, silently asking him if she should say to Will that she knew him. Drake nodded.

"Uh, yeah, you know me," she said. "Um, I'm friends with your sister."

Will's eyes brightened. "So you know my name?" he asked hopefully.

"Your name is Will." She still looked shocked, glancing from Will to Drake and I multiple times.

Drake glared at her. "Are you going to keep staring at us like an idiot or are you going to let us inside?"

"Oh, yeah, uh, come in," she stuttered, stepping away from the doorframe to allow us inside. She set her book on the coffee table and threw her granola bar away.

Books were littered all across Alex's sofa, along with empty chip bags and candy wrappers. This was the typical state of Alex's apartment when she was alone for a while.

"Sorry for the state of my room," Alex said apologetically.

"We're used to it," Drake and I answered simultaneously.

She rolled her eyes. "I was talking to Will, dumbasses."

"Oh, this place is clean compared to the dumpster I was found in," Will said, glancing around the room.

"You were found in a dumpster?" Alex repeated, shocked. She looked at Drake and I, her green eyes saying, _What the hell happened to him?_

Will nodded. "How about you watch some TV?" Drake gestured to the TV in front of the couch. "We'll just be inside Alex's room, okay?"

"Okay." Will sat down on the couch, clearing away some trash and books, and stared blankly at the TV. "Um, how does this thing work?" he asked, embarrassed.

Alex grabbed the remote and turned on the TV. The TV turned on to Sherlock, one of her favorite shows. She even had an "I am Sherlocked" t-shirt that none of us understood.

"Remember to ship Johnlock," Alex blurted without thinking. We dashed off to her room, shutting the door behind us.

Drake raised an eyebrow at Alex. "'Remember to ship Johnlock'? Seriously?"

"What's wrong with it?" Alex said defensively. "It was the first thing that popped into my head, okay?"

"What the hell is 'shipping' anyway?" Drake asked.

"And what the hell is 'Johnlock'?" I added.

Alex rolled her eyes. "I am not wasting my time explaining this stuff to you people. If you want to know what those things are, join the fandom." Drake and I exchanged a confused look about what a 'fandom' was. "What we need to be doing right now is finding out just what the hell is going on with Will," Alex said. "I want to know what happened; entire story—now."

We explained everything to her, from finding Will in the trash to deciding to help him.

"He doesn't remember a single thing?" she asked once we were done.

"Nothing important, like his name, identity, or background," I answered.

"He remembers how to be annoying," Drake added.

Alex rolled her eyes. "Everyone annoys you, Drake. It's not a surprise that Will does too."

"But our big concern right now is finding out why Will was found in a dumpster and why his memory is gone," I said, interrupting their arguments like I usually do.

"And how do you suppose we do that?" Drake asked.

"We could go to Erudite headquarters," Alex suggested.

Drake groaned. "But we were right across the street from it twenty minutes ago!

"It's not far, Drake. And if we go, we can run an MRI scan to see if there's something wrong with Will's brain."

"It's obvious that something _is_ wrong with his brain, Asshat Alexandra," Drake said.

Alex glared at him. "An MRI scan will help us find out _exactly_ what's wrong with his brain and how to treat it, Dickface Drake." And they're back to arguing.

"Sometimes I wonder how you two are best friends," I wondered aloud.

"It was by default," Drake said.

Alex punched him in the shoulder. "Please, you and I both know why we're best friends." I didn't bother to ask why exactly they were best friends. They always seemed close, like best friends are, but they've never told me about their friendship.

"I know." Drake grinned. "I just _had_ to say that."

"But what we all don't know is what the hell is wrong with Will," I said, trying to get the conversation back to the more important topic.

"What I want to know right now," Drake said, "is who did this to Will."

We all exchanged glances, seeing if anyone had any idea as to who could have done this.

"It obviously has to be someone with a time machine, since Drake and I had no idea this would happen," Alex said.

"Who has access to time machines in your time?" I asked.

Drake and Alex exchanged a glance. I knew that glance; it was the same glance they shared whenever they knew not to give a piece of information to me.

"We can't tell you, Tris," Alex said apologetically.

"I could use the information to help you figure out who did this!" I protested.

"Yeah, well giving that piece of information away basically gives everything away," Drake said.

I ran a hand through my red hair in frustration. "Fine, I don't care. Let's just go to Erudite and scan his brain. You two can figure out who did this without me." There was just a touch of anger in my voice at the last sentence. I hated when I couldn't help. I hated it even more when I didn't know something important.

"Do I have to go?" Drake complained. "I don't want to go all the way back there!"

"It's only a few miles away!" Alex said. "What are you, twelve?"

"And a half," Drake said. The same thing Uriah had said to Lynn a long time ago. How did they know about that conversation?

Alex elbowed him. "You're going, asscrown."

Drake sighed. "Fine, I'll go, asshat."

"Okay, then let's go grab Will and head off," I said. Finally, we were doing something important.

* * *

"Do we really have authority to use the Erudite labs?" I asked. The four of us were walking through the sterile white halls of Erudite, peeking into each room for an MRI machine.

"Nope, not really," Alex said with a shrug.

"How did you get the pass key to get in here?" Drake asked, gesturing to the key in her hand.

"I stole it from Cara. She works here."

"How is she supposed to get into work now?" I said, concerned. Is she trying to get Cara fired?

"Who's Cara?" Will asked curiously. It's a shame he doesn't remember his sister.

"We'll explain everything to you later," Alex said to him reassuringly. "I took her spare key. She has the original one," she said to answer my question.

"Does this count as breaking and entering?" I asked as Alex picked up her pace. We'd have to hurry so we wouldn't get caught. We stuck out here in our black clothes instead of blue ones.

"I don't think it counts as breaking in if you have a key." Alex waved the key in front of my face. She came to a sudden stop outside of a room, peering inside. I looked inside too, seeing the MRI machine that we needed.

This was sort of like the room where I had received my own MRI scan when I snuck off to Erudite. This room had the MRI machine, and there was a separate room to the left filled with computers, separated from this room by a wall of glass and a door. I assumed that the computers were hooked up to the MRI machine to let you see the scan.

"Yes, we found it!" Alex yelled.

"Shh!" Drake and I said at the same time.

"Are you trying to get us caught?" Drake chastised.

"These walls are sound proof," Alex said in her defense.

"Not when the goddamn door is open," Drake said.

Will shut the door when he heard Drake say that.

Alex went over to what seemed to be a control panel off to the side of the machine, pressing buttons and flicking switches.

"You know how this thing works, right?" Will asked.

"Yeah, Alex, wouldn't want you killing him or something," Drake joked. Unfortunately, Will thought Drake was being serious, and his eyes widened in fear.

Alex rolled her eyes. "Relax, I was taught how to operate this thing at the age of ten. I know what I'm doing."

"Who would spend time to teach a ten-year-old how to use an MRI machine?" I asked curiously. Why would Alex need to know something like that?

"I'll tell you some other day," Alex said. Of course, she's not going to tell me about her past anytime soon. I suppose I'll find out eventually. Her past is my future.

The MRI machine lit up, roaring to life.

"It's ready for a scan," Alex said. She gestured to the man-sized tray coming out of the machine. "Lie down, Will."

Will did as he was told. His wide eyes flitted to the machine, examining it. "Are you sure this is safe?" he asked anxiously.

"I'm positive," she said certainly. "Here, you have to put these in your ears to block out the really loud sounds you'll hear in the machine." Alex handed him a pair of ear plugs. He inserted them in his ears, still looking cautious.

"You have to lie completely still for us to get a clear scan of your brain; no movement, got it? And if you panic," Alex handed him a rectangular device with a single red button on it, "just press that red button. It will stop the machine and you'll get out of there. But the faster we do this, the faster we can figure out what happened to you."

Will still looked a little scared; he didn't remember that he went through things worse than this before in his life. He didn't remember some of the things that made him brave. That's why memories are so important; they shape who you are. They make up your personality. Without them… you're not what you were before.

"Be brave, Will," I said. I hadn't said that saying since the war.

For a moment, I swore I saw a flash of recognition in his eyes at the mention of the phrase, but it quickly disappeared.

Alex pushed a button on the side of the machine and Will slid in.

The machine started making a loud pounding sound. I closed my eyes, remembering my MRI scan during the war. The pounding the machine had made had reminded me of the faceless men trying to kidnap me in my fear landscape. I remember thinking the white lights in the machine to be menacing.

"Let's go into the other room," Alex yells over the machine.

The three of us walk to the separate room with computers and watch the MRI through the glass window.

"How long will this take?" I asked Alex.

She shrugged. "It usually takes fifteen to thirty minutes."

After about twenty minutes, the scan is done. We go back inside the room and pull Will out of the MRI.

He jumps off the tray, ripping the ear plugs out. "That was torture!" he says. "How do people do that?"

"You survived," Alex simply stated. She went over to the computers in the other room and pulled up the MRI scan. We all huddled around her, peeking over her shoulders at the scan.

"His brain seems to be intact," Alex said, her brows furrowing. "The hippocampus isn't damaged at all."

"And a hippocampus is…?" Drake asked trailing off.

"The part of the brain that houses memory," Alex answers immediately.

"So if that part is okay, then why are my memories gone?" Will asked.

"I don't know," Alex said. "According to the scan, none of the nerves are damaged in any way. In fact, your brain is perfectly healthy. I don't know what could possibly be wrong with it."

If his brain wasn't damaged, then what was wrong? What was going on?

"Will," Alex suddenly said, "wait for us by the MRI machine. We'll be out in a minute."

Will looked at us suspiciously, but went out of the room and stood by the MRI, shutting the door behind him.

Alex turned to me. "You shot him in the head, right?" she asked bluntly. I felt a pang of guilt, but nodded. "Yes. Why do you ask?"

"Look," she pointed at Will's brain, "there aren't any signs that a bullet had pierced the brain at all. So whoever brought Will back brought him back from before the simulation attack."

"And this information is helpful because?" Drake asked.

She shrugged. "That's what the detectives in all those mystery books do. They notice and point out every single detail and it helps them find out what happened."

"So what we know so far is," I said, "his brain isn't damaged in any way. No nerves have been destroyed, and there isn't a bullet in his head."

"What other information is there to gather?" Drake asked. "We've reached a dead end. The MRI scan can't tell us anything helpful now."

"There's no more information to gather, but there's questions to be asked," Alex said.

"And the question is what else could cause someone to lose their memory?" I asked.

Suddenly, it all clicked in our heads at the same time. We looked at each other; fear plastered all over our features, and said simultaneously, "Memory serum."

* * *

**A/N: This thing was 12 pages on Microsoft Word. That's a lot. Hmm… I wonder who did this to Will…**

**So I was wondering if you guys even like Alex and Drake. I like them, but I'm the one who created them! Can you guys tell me what you think of them? Are they awesome? Are they asscrown-ish? I want to know!**

**So I know that some of you guys are mad that I don't update like every day when it's summer. The thing about summer vacation is that I want to have FUN. I want to hang out with my friends, watch TV, go swimming, and read a shitload of books! I can't do that if I'm in front of a computer all day… **

**I'm really sorry, but I might not be able to update for a while… the word MIGHT is the key word there. I could maybe find time to write. My friend who I've known since we were like newborns is coming here to Texas and I haven't seen her in almost a year. So, as you could imagine, I want to spend time with her instead of writing… but whenever she's asleep I guess I'll try to write.**

**Please leave your opinions or comments in the reviews, and thanks for reading! ~Erica**


	20. Chapter 18

**A/N: This chapter is really short and crappy. I'm just saying.**

**And I didn't edit this. Whoops.**

* * *

**Tris POV**

How could we overlook memory serum in the first place? How could we not consider it? I felt like an idiot. How was I supposed to save Chicago if I couldn't even figure something as simple as memory serum out?

"I feel like an idiot for not realizing that in the first place," Drake voiced my thoughts.

"_You_ feel like an idiot? What about _me_? I'm supposed to be the smart one!" Alex exclaimed.

"Look, we're all idiots, okay?" I said. "We still have to figure out who did this and why."

"It could be one of Tris' old enemies," Alex supplied. "It would make sense. I mean, why else would they target her friends?" Drake nodded in agreement. "Whoever is doing this is out for something—revenge." A shiver was sent down my spine. Someone wanted revenge against me, and they knew the best way to get it. Through my friends.

"What can we do?" I ask. "What happens if they harm someone?" Drake and Alex both knew the second meaning to my sentence. _What happens if they harm someone I care about?_

"We're not going to let anything happen to anyone," Drake said firmly. "But first we need to figure out who the culprit is. We need to know who to watch out for."

"Who are Tris' old enemies?" Alex asked. I didn't want to list all of my enemies. It depressed me how many I had. I had too many enemies. Too many people who wouldn't hesitate to kill.

"David seems to be the most recent," Drake said. "So he could be doing this."

Alex nodded. "He did have access to vast amounts of memory serum."

"But I erased his memory," I pointed out. "He doesn't remember anything, hence he has no reason to do this."

Alex and Drake shared a look before nodding. "I suppose that rules him out," Alex said hesitantly. They were hiding something. Before I could question them, Drake said, "Then there's Nita. She wasn't the biggest enemy that Tris had, but I think she can still be considered one."

I considered. "What motivation would Nita really have? I haven't really done anything that bad to her. Nothing bad enough that would motivate her to kill me or harm my friends."

"Wait," Alex said, holding her hand up. "Something just occurred to me… if whoever is doing this is out to harm us, then why did they bring back Uriah? They have nothing to gain from that unless…" She trailed off, looking at us wide-eyed.

"Unless he was here to spy on us!" Drake finished for her. "I knew we couldn't trust him!" Drake clenched and unclenched his fists, almost as if deciding whether he wanted to punch something or not. But if Uriah was here to spy on us, that means… oh crap.

I looked at Alex to find that she was already looking at me in alarm. If Uriah was here to spy on us for the enemy, that means that they already know I'm alive. Our element of surprise could be completely gone.

_Drake doesn't know yet_, I suddenly remembered.

"How do we know he's spying on us?" I asked instead of admitting that I accidentally told Uriah who I really was. Drake didn't necessarily need to know right now… "What happens if there's a third person messing with time? What if they're on our side? Uriah wouldn't betray me. I know he wouldn't." I know that the possibilities are slim, but convincing myself of this made everything seem much less depressing.

Drake rolled his eyes and scoffed. "This isn't some fairy tale with a guaranteed happy ending, Tris. This is reality. And in reality, things don't always go the way you want things to go. People die, people get betrayed. The world could end up crumbling down to its knees and skyscrapers could tumble down and crash around us, but we would have to deal with that shit because that's what life is," he ranted on. "And if you can't deal with the fact that maybe one of your best friends betrayed you, then you need to get the hell out of here because we don't want you."

I could feel my blood boil at his words. What right does he have to tell me these things when he doesn't understand what I've been through?

"You think I don't know that?" I yelled at him. "You think I don't know that bad things happen in life? I watched both of my parents die right before my eyes, half my friends died, my brother betrayed me for Jeanine Matthews of all people, I ended up _dying_, the guy I love is dating my best friend, and on top of all that I have to deal with yet another war!" I screamed in frustration. I lowered my voice and whispered dangerously, "So don't go around telling me that I have to accept the fact that Uriah could've betrayed me, because compared to all the other shit I've gone through, it wouldn't be that much of a surprise. But you _cannot_ and _will not_ be angry with me for hanging on to that sliver of hope that he's on our side."

Drake bit his lip and looked down. "I'm sorry," he said quietly after a moment of awkward silence. "I never bothered to think about how all of this might seem from your perspective. I just—it's just that—um, sorry," Drake stuttered. He still wasn't used to apologizing.

I sighed. "It's fine. I don't even care anymore."

We stood in silence for a moment, Alex standing to the side awkwardly playing with her fingers. She had watched the whole argument completely silent, probably not knowing what to say.

Finally, she cleared her throat. "You know, a very confused Will is still waiting by the MRI machine for us," she pointed out. "I think we should go get to him."

"Why should we still help him?" Drake asked. "He's probably here to spy on us like Uriah is."

"We don't know if Uriah is spying on us yet," I said quickly, eager to defend my friend.

"Why else would Will be here? They probably erased his memory so that we'd pity him and take him in," Drake spat.

"Or Will was being tortured by memory serum," I said. "That could be a possibility." It's a slim possibility, but it can still be considered.

"Why would they bother to bring him back to life, torture him, and then just leave him abandoned in a dumpster?" Alex asked. "They would've just killed him unless they had something else to gain from him. And what they gain is inside information on us."

I sighed. "You're right. It's just that I can't handle the thought of my friends betraying me. I've had enough betrayal to last me a life time."

"Then I hope you can deal with even more," Drake muttered.

"What?" I asked, not understanding. I probably couldn't handle more betrayal, if I were being honest.

He shook his head. "It's nothing. Let's just grab Will."

"And what are we going to do with him if he really is here to spy on us?" Alex questioned. Obviously we weren't going to take him back to Dauntless if he was a traitor.

"It's simple, Alex. We interrogate him," he told us with a shrug.

"There's nothing we can interrogate him about, Drake." I tell him. "He has no memory. And it's not like there's some sort of cure for memory serum."

"Who said there wasn't?" Drake asked, raising an eyebrow.

My eyes widened. There was some sort of cure for memory serum? I thought you could only inoculate yourself against it. I didn't know you could rid the effects of the serum entirely.

"Hold up," I said, confused. "There's a cure for memory serum?" That could change everything.

"I thought we weren't going to tell her about this, Drake!" Alex yelled. "It was part of the plan."

"Fuck the plan," Drake said, waving her off. "We didn't count on someone else getting hold of a time machine. They've changed everything we counted on being the same, which means we can't rely on anything. Right now, we have no plan."

"So basically, we're screwed?" Alex asked.

"Basically," Drake answered, nodding.

* * *

**A/N: What'd I tell you? It's crappy, right? Oh well.**

**Btw, to a guest reviewer: There's no way in hell I would delete this story. I'm finishing this even if it ends up being the shittiest story on fanficiton. ****I don't even care if this is bad anymore. You guys can just continue reading this crappy fan fiction. **

**I AM REALLY FRUSTRATED WITH THIS STORY BECAUSE I HAVE THE ENTIRE THING PLANNED OUT BUT I DON'T KNOW HOW TO MAKE IT HAPPEN UGHHHH**

**Well, um, peace out girl scouts. (I was never in girl scouts tbh)~Erica **


	21. Chapter 19

**A/N: THIS WAS ALL DONE ON MY PHONE SO ITS PROBABLY MESSED UP**

**Tris Pov**

We walked back into the room with the MRI, seeing Will sitting there patiently. He was looking around the room, his eyes fascinated by all the complex and expensive machinery.

"Stand up," Drake demanded as soon as we were in earshot. "We're going."

Will immediately stood, obeying his command like a dog. "Where are we going now? Are we going home? Am I going to meet my sister now?" he asked eagerly. I felt a wave of pity wash over me. I wished that I could reintroduce him to Cara, but we had business to do. He could be the key to finding out about all this time travel nonsense.

Alex shook her head and gave him a fake smile. "We'll have you meet your sister later. But first, we have to run a few more tests." If by a few more tests, she meant 'break into a top secret lab that contained the cure to memory serum,' then that's exactly what we were doing.

Will's face fell, but he nodded. I couldn't believe he was so compliant. Sure, I was one of his closest friends, but he didn't remember that. Not to mention that he just met us two hours ago.

"Okay, so we need a plan of action," Alex said. "We're breaking into probably the most highly guarded room in the building. Anybody have a good way to do that?"

Will's eyes widened. "Is what we're doing illegal?!" he exclaimed.

"Oh look," Drake said with an eye-roll, "Blondie remembers what illegal means."

I elbowed him in the stomach, but he didn't even flinch. Damn him for his stupid abs. "Don't be a dick, Drake."

"I don't think I like you very much," Will said to Drake bluntly. I suppose memory loss gets rid of someone's filter. Drake glared at the blond boy in front of him. "You should be grateful I even allowed you to come to Dauntless headquarters with us, let alone brought you to Erudite headquarters," he said snippily.

I expected Will to glare back at him or to roll his eyes, but he merely laughed. "_You_ allowed me to come to headquarters? _You_ brought me to Erudite? Please," he said with a sharp edge in his voice, "I'd still be alone in that alley if it weren't for Zoë."

I could see that Drake was about to burst. His eyes were dark with anger, his hands balled into fists at his side. "Has Will always been so sassy?" Alex asked me with light eyes. She was watching the entire scene with a smirk on her face and her arms crossed over her chest.

I had to admit, the situation was somewhat amusing. I let a small smile cross my face. "You know, now that I think about it, Will has always had a little bit of sass to him," I told my friend honestly. She laughed. "We should probably diffuse the situation before it gets out of hand," Alex said, eyeing the two boys who were spitting insults back at each other. Drake could start a fight with literally anyone; even someone whose memory has been wiped away and has only been awake for about two hours.

Alex whistled loudly, my eardrum practically bursting at the high and sharp noise. The two boys' heads snapped in our direction, and their mouths shut immediately.

She smirked, prideful at how easily she got everyone's attention. "If you two are done fighting like children," Alex said, "we have a lab to break into."

"How are we going to do that anyway?" I asked. "This is the Erudite we're talking about. I don't think they would leave one of their most top secret rooms completely unguarded."

Drake nodded, his face serious and calm. He was completely unfazed from the quarrel he and Will had just had. "Of course it's not easy to break into. It's quite the opposite, actually," he responded with a shrug. "The room is probably the most guarded place in this headquarters. But Alex and I are known for our planning skills." Drake and Alex looked at each other and smirked with a mischievous glint to their eyes.

"Besides, we know this place like the back of our hands," Alex added, holding up her hand to emphasize her point.

Drake nodded along, agreeing with her. "The security guarding the room isn't too drastic, but that shit is still hard to crack."

"Well what's guarding the room?" Will asked.

"There are about 4 motion sensor cameras lining the hallway to the room," Alex started explaining. "If they sense any motion whatsoever, it will alert the people in the control room, set off an alarm, and lock down the hallway. If the alarm isn't shut off in one minute, the hallway will fill with a gas that causes temporary paralysis. The only person who can shut off the alarm and open the doors at the end of the hall is the person manning the control room."

That means that one of us had to be in the control room to be able to get through the hall and into the lab. "Does anyone here know how to shut down the alarm once it goes off?" I questioned, looking at Alex and Drake.

They both shook their heads. "The only way to shut down the alarm and open the doors is with a really complex code and that only certain people in Chicago have access to," Alex said sadly. "And unfortunately, we don't know a single person who knows the code."

Drake smiled. "Actually, yes we do."

I raised my eyebrows. "Who?"

"The people who have access to the code are the people who work in each control room of each faction headquarter, just in case something happens to the person working in this Erudite control room. It's just that everyone else thinks the hallway leads to a safe filled with about two-thirds of Erudite's money and important files and records," he told us. He let a smirk fall across his face. "And guess who works in the control room of our very own Dauntless headquarters?"

He didn't give anyone a chance to respond. "None other than Tobias Eaton!"

"Can I tell him who I am yet?" I asked eagerly. I didn't want to continue to lie to him. He didn't deserve that.

Alex shook her head. "I don't think that would be the best idea right now. We have to keep the time line as close to as it's supposed to be as possible. Enough shit has already changed the future a lot; we have to keep it as close to the future we know so we still know how to stop it from happening."

"Who is she? What's this about the future?" Will asked curiously, his eyebrows furrowing together.

"Nothing," Drake said rudely, obviously not wanting Will to ask any more questions. Will's eyes widened with shock, and he immediately snapped his mouth shut.

I disregarded Drake and said, "You guys really think Tobias would actually agree to this without any explanation? I personally doubt it."

Drake waved my question off. "If worse comes to worst, we could always just use a simulation serum on him." He shrugged nonchalantly, almost as if taking away someone's free will was the right thing to do—which, it wasn't.

But did the right thing really matter anymore? Did it really matter what we did now, as long as it was good for the rest of the world? Alex once told me that sometimes it doesn't matter what you do, it's why you do it. Sometimes your intentions are more important than your actions. Sometimes you have to hurt people in order to do the right thing. I don't know if I entirely believer her, though. If you truly had good intentions, then why would it harm someone in the first place?

"I don't think I'd want to take away Tobias' free will," I answered instead of voicing my thoughts. "We could just make up a lie instead." Lying was still a bad thing to do, but I supposed it was better than not giving him a choice in the matter at all.

"What could we lie about that would make our story believable enough for him to help us?" Alex inquired.

"Well the control room workers were told that the room was filled with tons of Erudite's money, right?" Drake asked us. Alex and I nodded while Will looked at all of us confused, obviously not able to keep up. "We can just tell him we're stealing money! He'll definitely help us then!"

Alex rolled her eyes at him and shoved him. "This, Drake, is why we don't make you the brains of our operations."

Drake laughed. "Relax, I was joking. We just have to tell Tobias that the Erudite have something that's valuable to Zoë in there. Tobias being his usual Abnegation self will help us because he just _has_ to help the little damsel in distress, and we get the cure to memory serum!"

"Why would he help me, though? From what he's seen, Zoë is anything _but_ a damsel in distress. Not to mention, she's sort of a jerk," I pointed out.

"Even the strongest people need help doing something," Drake told me. "This could be the something Zoë Nightshade needs help with."

I sighed in resignation. "What are we going to tell him is in the safe? What is so important that we'd go through all this trouble to get to it?" I couldn't think of anything we could say was in that safe. There's not really anything important that I'd need.

Suddenly, the conversation I had with Tobias last night popped into my head. "What about my family? I told Tobias that my parents were killed in the war. I could say that Erudite has important information on them that I want to know about. I could say that my parents hid something important from me and now that safe is the only place with any record of it," I explained my plan.

They nodded in approval. "Okay, that'll probably work," Alex agreed. "It's not like we have a better plan."

"So who's calling up Tobias and telling him this lie?" Drake asked, looking at me and Alex for volunteers.

"I will!" Will said, raising his hand like a three-year-old. I suppressed a smile, trying to keep myself from laughing. It was weird seeing Will acting like that.

"I don't think you should be the one to do it," Drake immediately answered. "Tr—Zoë should do it!" Alex elbowed him for almost saying my real name.

"Okay," I answered with a shrug. It would make more sense that I be the one to do it. "Does anyone here carry around a phone?"

"Here," Alex said while pulling her phone out of her pocket. I grabbed the slim rectangular device and swiped my thumb across the screen to unlock it.

"Does Tobias even have a phone?" I asked with an eyebrow raise.

"Everyone in Dauntless does nowadays," Alex answered as she looked over my shoulder to see what I was doing with her phone. "It's a security precaution and a requirement. If anyone goes missing or we need to contact someone, we can just use our phones."

I nodded absentmindedly while I scrolled through her contacts for Tobias's name. I finally came across it, the name "Four." I clicked the call button and put it on speaker so that everyone else could hear.

The phone began to ring, and I felt myself grow nervous. Would he buy our lie? What would happen if he didn't? What would happen if he asked to see my so called family records? Would I have to lie again? Or would I come clean?

I didn't have time to mull over the situation for much longer, my thoughts cut off as I heard Tobias's deep voice say, "Hello?" through the phone.

I took a deep breath. _You're Zoë Nightshade now,_ I told myself. "Four," I said sternly into the microphone in a hard voice. "You have to come to Erudite headquarters. _Now_."

I could practically hear his confusion through the phone. "And why would I do that?"

I hesitated. I really hated lying to him, but I had to. Drake shot me a glare, telling me to hurry up so we could get this over with. "The Erudite have important information about my parents," I lied. "And you have to help me get it."

"What?" he asked. "Why can't you do it on your own?"

I pinched the bridge of my nose. "Could you please shut up and just come over here already? I'll explain everything once you get here."

His end of the line went silent, him probably debating whether he should help me or not. I wouldn't have been surprised if he said no.

Just when I thought he had hung up, I heard him sigh. "Where exactly in Erudite are you?"

I grinned. Thank goodness. "Alex will escort you to where we are located," I told him, Alex rolling her eyes but nodding anyway.

"Alex is with you too?" I could hear the surprise in his voice. "I suppose Drake is there as well?"

"What makes you think that?!" Drake shouted into the microphone, sounding offended.

Tobias laughed. God, I missed that sound. "You and Alex are practically attached at the hip. You two do everything together."

Drake rolled his eyes while Alex just laughed. "Whatever, dude. Hurry up, you don't want to miss the next train here," Drake said.

"You better have a good explanation for this." I could hear movement through the phone, which probably meant that Tobias was preparing to leave. "I don't want to get there and find out I got my ass up for nothing."

I rolled my eyes. "I'm sure you won't be disappointed."

Because we have quite an adventure planned out for you.

**A/N: Yeah, really lame way to end the chapter, I know. Yeah, this chapter was all choppy and I'm not even sure half of this makes sense, but oh well cuz you know what? I UPDATED YAY.**

**To guest reviewer Amn: I'M REALLY SORRY HOLY CRAP AND I KNOW YOU MIGHT THINK THIS IS JUST ME BEING POLITE BUT I SERIOUSLY AM VERY SORRY ZOMG. THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE FOR SO LONG AND I KNOW YOU PROBABLY HATE ME BUT I AM SO SO SO SO SORRY **

**To everyone else who's bothered to stick around this long: I'M REALLY SORRY HOLY CRAP.**


	22. Chapter 20

**A/N: It's been over a month but HEY IT HASN'T BEEN THREE MONTHS I MEAN I THINK IT'S A PRETTY BIG ACCOMPLISHMENT. **

**I edited this but I think there's a bunch of typos so prepare yourself to cringe at a lot of grammar mistakes.**

* * *

**Tobias POV**

I got the call while I was in the training room practicing my knife throwing. Just as I was about to throw a perfectly sharpened knife at the target, I suddenly felt my phone buzz in my pocket. It was an unusual occurrence for me. People in Dauntless only ever call each other in times of emergency, so why would someone be calling me now? What type of emergency would they be in?

I quickly pulled my phone out of my pocket and looked at the caller ID. It said "Alex Daddario." Why would Alex be calling me? Did she get herself in trouble again? It really wouldn't be a surprise, considering her best friend was someone like Drake.

I slid my finger across the screen to answer the call and finally stop the obnoxious ringing. "Hello?" I cringed. I hated answering calls by asking 'hello?' It made me seem as if I didn't know how to use a cell phone.

"Four," Zoë immediately answered in a hard voice. "I need you to come to Erudite headquarters. _Now_."

I raised an eyebrow; then lowered it again when I realized that she couldn't see me. "And why would I do that?" I had no reason to help her.

She hesitated for a moment as if debating whether or not she actually wanted to tell me. I didn't understand why she wouldn't tell me, though. _She_ was the one who called _me_. Finally, she answered, "The Erudite have important information about my parents. And you're going to help me get it."

"What?" I asked, suddenly taken aback. Why would she need me for something as important as her parents? "Why can't you do it on your own?"

I could hear her frustration through the phone. "Could you please shut up and just come over here already? I'll explain everything once you get here."

I went silent and debated whether or not I should bother going all the way to Erudite for her. I recalled the conversation we had last night at the chasm, when we had what most people would call a 'heartfelt moment.' Zoë had told me that her parents had died in the war, and that she felt like it was her own fault that they were dead. If I had actually cared about my parents during the war, and if my parents had actually died in battle, then I suppose that I would want to know information about them as well. But I don't know if I would have gone to such measures as to prowl through Erudite or whatever she planned on doing.

_Tris definitely would,_ a voice in the back of my head whispered to me. I shook my head in an attempt to rid my mind of the voice. I didn't need to relate Zoë to Tris. They were nothing alike… or that's what I continually told myself.

But Tris knew what it was like to lose her parents. Tris knew what it was like to not know something about your deceased parents. Tris knew what it was like to walk around aimlessly, trying to find answers. And Tris would want me to help Zoë so she wouldn't have to find it all out by herself. Everyone needs a little help along the way.

I sighed. I was Abnegation, right? So I was obligated to help her. "Where exactly in Erudite are you?"

"Alex will escort you to where we are located," Zoë answered happily. Wait, Alex was there?

"Alex is with you too?" I asked in surprise. It honestly shouldn't have been so shocking. I mean, it was Alex's phone she was calling me through. "I suppose Drake is there as well." Drake and Alex were as close as friends could be without actually dating. Of course they were together all the time.

"What makes you think that?!" I heard Drake shout into the microphone, confirming my suspicions.

I laughed at his offended tone. "You and Alex are practically attached at the hip. You two do everything together."

Alex laughed. I could practically hear Drake roll his eyes as he said, "Whatever, dude. Hurry up, you don't want to miss the next train here."

I checked the time and started to move around quickly when I realized that the next train would be here in 10 minutes. "You better have a good explanation for this," I said into the microphone as I started to put my knives away. "I don't want to get there and find out I got my ass up for nothing."

"I'm sure you won't be disappointed," Zoë answered before the line went dead.

_Why did I agree to this again?_

Once I had put everything away, I quickly started making my way to the train tracks. I ran straight into Uriah at the chasm on my way out.

"Sorry, Uri," I quickly apologized, knowing that the train would be arriving in only 8 minutes. I tried running past him, but he grabbed my arm.

"What's got you rushing, Four?" he asked, curiosity pasted across his features.

"Zoë needs my help over at Erudite," I answered hurriedly. I glanced at my watch. 7_ minutes_.

Uriah smirked and released my arm. "Ah, I see." He covered his mouth to hide his smirk, but I already saw it. Did he know something I didn't? I couldn't see how he could know something about Zoë. He's known her for about as long as I have.

My curiosity got the best of me, and I turned to face him again. "What do you mean?" Uriah coughed to conceal laughter, but he quickly composed himself.

"It's just that the Four I knew wouldn't rush all the way to Erudite for some random girl that he met yesterday," he answered, the smirk making its way onto his face again.

"She isn't some random girl," I blurted before I could think it through. The blush coated my cheeks as I heard Uriah snicker, but I ignored him. Was what I said true? She _was_ some random girl… right? I wouldn't do anything special for her, because Zoë wasn't anything special. But wasn't this something I would only do for someone I care about? I wouldn't rush to Erudite for just about anyone.

"You realize that you just said the most cliché thing ever, right?" Uriah said, adding to my embarrassment. "'She isn't some random girl' says _every _guy in _every _romance movie." He rolled his eyes.

"This isn't a romance movie or even a romance book," I told him. "This is real life. And in real life, there's no happily ever after for the happy couple." _And there certainly isn't any happy ending for me and Tris. _

"This is about Tris, isn't it?" Uriah asked, his tone softening. Was it really that obvious?

"No," I answered quickly. When Uriah gave me a look that said he didn't believe me, I added, "Not entirely." I wasn't the only one who was left behind by the person they loved. Will left Christina behind. Marlene left Uriah behind… then Uriah left his friends behind. The only up side now is that our losses bound us closer together as a faction—as a _family_. And family means no one is left behind or forgotten. We won't leave each other behind. We won't forget about the people who have left us behind—unintentionally, of course.

Uriah sighed. "Look, Four," he placed a callused hand on my shoulder and continued, "I know you've had 3 years to adjust, but I can tell that you still haven't let her go. I mean, she's Tris. It isn't a surprise that you still hold on to her so tightly." I brace myself for him to tell me the words that every person I know has ever told me—Zoë being the only exception—_it's time to let her go_.

But what comes out of his mouth is the exact opposite of what I was expecting. "And I want you to keep hanging on to her. Everyone else here tries to wipe her away, tries to pretend that she never existed. But if you keep hanging on to her as tightly as you have been for the past three years…" he trails off, biting his lip. Then he says, "Maybe you'll find Tris in someone else."

I assumed he was speaking in the metaphorical sense. He was saying that I'd find a new lover in a new girl. Of course I probably wouldn't. I've tried with Christina, but... she didn't make me feel the way Tris made me feel. Before I could respond, he pushed me forward. "Okay, Four, I've delayed you enough. You still have a train to catch."

I glanced at my watch, alarmed at how much time had flown by. The next train would be here in _3 minutes._

"Shit! I'll see you later, Uri," I quickly farewelled, dashing out of the Pit.

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**Uriah POV**

Well, damn. I hope Tris doesn't kill me for hinting to Four that she's alive. He probably had no idea what the hell I was talking about, but once he finds out that Zoë is Tris, he'll understand. He'll _literally_ find Tris in another girl, and then one day he'll thank me for my words of wisdom. Tris will probably be pissed at me if she finds out, though… oh well. We'll cross that bridge when we get there. But for now, I want some Dauntless cake…

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**Tobias POV**

The next train to Erudite was just arriving once I made it to the tracks, and I swiftly hopped on with ease.

It didn't take long for me to make it to Erudite. As I leaped off the train onto the ground lying in front of Erudite headquarters, I saw Alex standing a few feet away from the tracks.

She shook her head as I approached her, but I could see the small smile on her face. "Wow, Four. I didn't expect you to actually come over here."

I didn't know whether I should be offended or flattered at her comment—offended because she didn't think I'd come to Erudite to help someone, flattered because she oh-so-bluntly described my stubbornness. I went with the former. "Why would you think that?" I asked her as we started to walk towards the building.

She kept her eyes locked in front of her, probably only able to see me from the corner of her eye, but I knew the smirk she wore on her face was directed at me. "After only a day of knowing her, you still go to all this trouble to help her. That girl's already got you falling, huh?"

I internally scoffed, although I think it would've been more effective if I had scoffed out loud. It didn't take an Erudite to figure out that the girl she was talking about was Zoë. Why would I like her? It was impractical. It was improbable. It was _impossible_. And out of all people, why would I fall for someone that was _Tris' look alike_?

Of course her looking like Tris shouldn't have influenced my decision. But it wasn't just that she looked like Tris; no, it was more than that. At times, their personalities seemed one and the same, and that scared me. I had always thought Tris to be so unique, so different from anyone else, and the fact that there was another girl walking around that was almost exactly like her made Tris seem so… obsolete.

"I didn't hear a no." Alex snickered from beside me. I had forgotten to address her entirely.

I rolled my eyes at her. "Alex, let's be reasonable here. You know that I wouldn't fall for someone after only a day of knowing them."

Alex only nodded as we reached the entrance of the building, but I could tell by the smirk on her face that she didn't believe me.

What I told her about Zoë was true—I haven't fallen for her. After all, it's only been a day.

_You haven't fallen for her_ yet. _'Yet' being the key word_, a voice in the back of my mind whispered. I quickly stifled it, not needing to deal with false thoughts being planted in my mind.

But then I began to wonder… was it really so false?

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**A/N: Tobias is so oblivious, like he can't even figure out that Zoë is Tris. COME ON, NUMBER DUDE, FIGURE IT OUT!**

**New Years Resolution: remembering to write 2015 instead of 2014 on papers. **

**Please leave your opinions or comments in the reviews, and thanks for reading! ~Erica**


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